Well lets just clarify things:
BA cadets will continue training if already on courses. They will graduate into a hold pool and progress from there to BA jobs as and when they become available. Which they will. Probably.
BMI cadets are to continue their courses paid for in advance by BMI and when they finish they are free to stroll off into the wilderness of airline recruitment.
Aer Lingus cadets will have to pay their own way if they wish to continue. In many cases and it varies from course to course, training fees have been paid for up until some point in the near future so they have a little breathing space. But there are no jobs when they graduate. Rumour control is also consistently saying gloomy things about the prospects of those that have graduated and started line flying but there is no hard evidence on this one way or the other.
This kind of thing has happened before in the early 90's and indeed even back in the Hamble days there were these kinds of hiccups.
Whilst it is gutting to those guys on sponsorships - and I have several good friends as such - it is doubly gutting for their self sponsored colleagues. The competition for now rarer jobs just got a whole lot more intense.
Whilst I fully understand and can sympathise 100% with the BA, BMI and AL cadets (I had a RAF 6th Form GDP Scholarship not honoured due to the end of the Cold War or something happening) I hope they will have the tact not to bleat too hard in front of the self sponsored guys with now the same job hunting prospects and a £50,000 loan around their necks...
Good luck to one and all,
WWW