vhxxx - various staff tell me the closure was announced on Monday with the doors to close on Friday. Not quite "two days notice" and anyway I'm in no doubt that SFC will meet their contractual obligations to the employees to the letter.
Yes, they do still have a Lear simulator, although it's boxed up.
Please spare a thought for the staff - there are a bunch of very talented and decent people now unemployed.
I think the reasons for the closure are probably purely economic. Not only the ever increasing costs of doing business in this country and the high Australian dollar contributed, but the flow of cadets had slowed to a trickle, reflecting significantly reduced recruiting by SIA. Currently they average 4-6 cadets at Maroochydore at any given time; before the GFC you'd see something like 24 present. And lastly there was the realization that other reputable airlines have successful cadet programmes that simply don't have an advanced jet phase. Cathay cadets, as an example, complete their CPL and IR at Parafield, then became mainline SO's for several years. During this phase their training continues with many simulator proficiency and training sessions, and then they face a rigorous FO upgrade programme. This is arguably equally effective and doubtless cheaper than running a jet training centre.
I would strongly doubt that they'll start up elsewhere.
I spent three very happy years at SFC, possibly the "nicest" job I've ever had. A modern facility, excellent simulators, the students who were smart, keen and respectful, a decent aeroplane (I'm talking about the Lear 45 here) and very supportive staff. Led by a CP respected and liked by all, the instructors were simply a great bunch of guys. The usual point-scoring and jockeying for position that you usually see in the pilot group was notably absent - they just got on with the job.
Vale SFC.