A case in point. Aer Lingus recently advertised for direct entry pilots. They got over 3,000 applicants, many of them type rated on the 320. Despite this huge number (they were only looking for 45 pilots) they had to reopen the process as they apparently did not get the "right sort" of people.
They have now advertised for cadets who will be part sponsored. Aer Lingus, as well as other airlines, have a long history of selecting people with no flying experience, that they know, from their selection process, will make excellent Captains in the future. There seem to be very few "washouts" from this process.
The airlines obviously feel there are long term benefits from such cadet schemes otherwise they would not run them. As these schemes are part funded it also opens them up to more people who have an aptitude for the job but not the resources to come up with 100K, especially in these tough economic times.
No doubt Aer Lingus and other airlines will continue to recruit both qualified and cadets for years to come (hopefully!).
Best of Luck to all who are job hunting!
