Hundredpercentplease,
Yes, you are are absolutely right regarding the point of clarification. That might raise the question in certain quarters as to why mention another companies terms and conditions when they are not relevant to this subject? The answer would be, in response to the assertion that these schemes (either from the training school perspective or the airlines persepective) are "scams".
It won't have been lost on many people just how bad things have been across a whole range of industries over at least the last two years. As it concerns the subject matter here, these cadet programmes that have been quite successful historically, have had their end user customers shut the door until their own trading situation improves.
In an attempt to keep at the very least a trickle flow going, at least one (and possibly more) of them has sourced placements on far less secure, much more costly, and generally much less desirable terms than might have been the case 3 years ago. They would no doubt argue, that something, indeed anything is better than nothing? That same argument would hold true with many would be unemployed pilots who have taken significant personal compromises in some of their own lives.
Should training schools shut down recruitment as a result? To do so would undoubtably terminate their business. Should airlines shut down as a consequence of the recession? Some have been forced to. The survivors, survive by careful management, upbeat projections, increasing yields as creatively as they can, reducing costs across the board, drawing on reserves and finding customers wherever they can be found. It is not unreasonable to suppose that training schools follow a similar format.
New opportunities may be unpalatable, unaffordable, and a complete non-starter to some, but if there is a market it simply becomes part of the new reality. If there is no market, the idea will either die or evolve into something else.
I have already said, it is for people better informed and more closely involved with this particular company, and this particular scheme, to comment on the specifics. However, the generality is that the training schools in question and the airlines being mentioned are most definetaly not "scam" artists. They are well established players in their respective fields. Whether you love them, loathe them or are indifferent to them. They all have have a history of providing training, placements and jobs in accordance with terms that reflect the realities of the current marketplace at any particular moment in time. They may well be the price setters or market makers for this often bad news, but that doesn't change the reality.