And in the last major recession British Midland were offering 737 type rating courses on their Sims. They hinted that the company would need some FO's and that all people who did the course would be "evaluated" nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
A lot of people desperate for a break signed up and got themselves a nice shiny 737 rating. And how many got hired by British Midland? Hmmm, not many.
There was nothing wrong in this. A type rating course without a job offer prior is a simple case of caveat emptor.
Ryanair have obviously looked back on history. At least they do seem to be hiring the course graduates at a fairly prodigous rate.
WWW