No, it doesn't guarantee anything. The partner airlines make their selection from the graduates that are available. That selection process is likely to involve an interview. Those graduates that I am aware of who came to us, were certainly interviewed. The majority of those interviewed were selected for placement, and almost all of them were offered employment contracts at the end of their placement periods. I understand that trainees receive training and guidance on interview preparation.
First time passes in everything, isn't a prerequisite that I am aware of, but it might be for a particular company. Many of the graduates may well achieve first time passes at the various testing stages and that is good. However flight training is a dynamic and if a candidate required additional training to meet a standard at some point during that training, that certainly wouldn't preclude them a placement at the partner airlines that I am aware of.
That much money for an interview is a bit of a scam don't you think?
Yes, if you think life is full of guarantees it probably would appear that way to you. The partner airlines are separate companies with their own requirements, terms and conditions. If they have no requirement then they will be offering no interviews. If they do have a requirement, then the FTO will put forward candidates from which they can make their own selection. That is likely to involve an interview. An interview is part of the process if you are selecting cadet pilots as indeed it is if you are selecting pilots with many thousands of hours of relevant experience. An experienced pilot within the airline is also going to be interviewed for appointment opportunities within the company (training, administration, management etc.) It is also increasingly becoming a part of the regular "personal development" process in most companies.
Those CTC graduates that I regularly fly with, don't regard it as "a bit of a scam." They were all interviewed as a part of the process. I am not aware that any were "guaranteed" an interview with anybody, although given the high level of placement, most obviously went through that process by default.