Good post.
Their head of training, Mario Fulgoni, told a colleague of mine that after doing the tye rating - the chances of actually getting work at either Astraeus or any other B737 operator were slim.
I know that some people have got jobs this way. However, I,m not too impressed by any organistion that is unwilling to go on the record and state clear statistics such as "we have carried out x self sponsored type ratings and y are now in employment".
Lets read from the successful and non-successful people and try to build up a true picture.