From the outside looking in, this looks like the best of a bad bunch in terms of the options available to the recruitment team.
Thomson appear to be coming good to their word to those made redundant a few years back, and putting an option in front of the baby drivers. This should be applauded.
However, Thomson cast a handful (maybe 20) of their cadets back to the sea at the end of their training in 06/07. These cadets had committed to the program, backed it with their own cash, and saw it to completion. Even now, not a look in unless they found themselves on a 737 in the mean time. Shame.