I think this article highlights the fact that so many young wannabes (myself included, once upon a time) feel the need to jump right into flight training at 17/18 straight out of A Levels. The target market for the likes of CTC/OAA etc, certainly from the open days I attended, seemed to be young, middle class teenagers spending their parents' money.
There's a lot of generalisations being thrown around on this thread about us yoofs, a lot of which in my opinion fall a bit wide of the mark, but I do distinctly remember getting the feeling of a distinct lack of general life experience and social awkwardness about a lot of the other young wannabes I've met, and I've no doubt I exhibited those same traits while I was one of them. Perhaps I'm not really in a position to comment being young myself but I think I've matured a lot since my integrated-wannabe days- just having a part time job, for example, has really sharpened up my social skills, made me a much more approachable, interesting and friendly person, and perhaps most significantly, paying my way through most of a PPL (and subsequently deciding to move on and do other things) has given me a real appreciation of money that I otherwise wouldn't have had.
I do agree however that the 'status' thing is a big factor in attracting young adolescent males to part with their cash. Some people seem to be willing to pay a lot to get themselves a f*cebook profile picture in epaulettes. I'll admit that at the tender age of 16/17 I too liked to think that talking about flying planes and wearing the shades, pilot jacket etc would command respect and impress girls. It turns out it doesn't, in fact the whole pilot-ego-swagger thing probably served only to make me look a little bit odd and a big bit self-centred. As much as I knew that 152s are about as sexy as Reliant Robins, I knew that other people didn't know much about flying, and I played that to my advantage, hamming up the risk and difficulty. Nowadays I'm much more popular and respected for just being a nice, genuine person and not shoving my whole 'pilot act' down the throats of everyone I meet.
Apart from being cheap to employ, what is the appeal of hiring somebody to help fly a 70-tonne jet who might not have even had so much as a paper round as experience to guide them through life?
Just some thoughts from a self-confessed wasgonnabe.