Eternity, like you I turned them down.
Apparently the takers for the short course(s), ie those with experience are not so many but they are inundated for positions for the full course, ie ZERO to <250 hrs.
And yes, guys with Q400 time (one guy boasts of 3400 hrs TT) are apparently taking it up. Absolutely crazy when there are jobs in the ME and Sth East Asia, as well as China screaming for guys where minimums can be as low as 500 hrs TT and up to 1000-1500 hrs TT for RHS gig on an A320 or 73NG - and on a damn sight better pay packet.
They say there are no jobs out there. Like hell there isn't. They just deem GA too hard or prefer to exist with the blinkers on.
Take a look at the wannabe forums for the style of candidate CX now attracts.
All this in a recent period of record profits and on course to do it again.
Sad. When CX used to be (amongst) the pinacle and admired by so many in the airline world. Great legacy TT. Well done RH. Laughing all the way to the bank without a conscience to care about.