Hi all.
A quickie. I am ex OATS and have luckily found a very good job flying a big aeroplane as my first job. I joined BALPA before going to OATS because:
1) Monthly LOG and Airwaves newsletters
2) Professional Union...which I happen to believe is invaluable. Just in case you have a prang.
3) An excellent Job seekers conference evry Autumn.
They are not in the business of finding you a job. They are our (Flightcrew) Union, but they do have good resources and interesting rags to read each month.
Worth joining if you believe in Union mentality...not worth it if you don't intend to believe in what they try and do as an organisation.
Good luck all.
p.s. I doubt Chris Darke will reply to your e mails. He is the Boss of BALPA. A bit like writing to Rod Eddington for a BA cadet job.