CX cadet pilot for foreigners

[guybrush]

Hey everyone!

Do any of you know whom to contact to discuss the matter of foreigners applying for the cadet programme?

I know, I know, it's only for HK residents. But who knows, I may be able to get some sort of help from people at CX.

PM any e-mails (only) if it is not allowed to post such info so publically.

Thanx :ok:
guybrush

[daveip]

email the cadet pilot recruitment people or HR ... their email should be on the careers website somewhere

but i don't believe that non-hk residents can be accepted as upon completion of the cadet program, you are based in HK ... so without ***A on your HK ID card you can't work in hk. i think? anyone else care to elaborate on this?

[AAIGUY]

The same reason they hire every other Asian Airline hires expats. Experience and Decision making.

[flyer_spotter]

No, you have to be a Hong Kong citizen to apply for cadetship.

[Thylakoid]

It is like here in the Middle East: only local born kids get in. The airlines here have this dream of one day, all pilots will be locals. Perhaps within the next twenty or thirty years they will achieve that, considering the amount of qualified kids they get per year now.

[daveip]

someone from FTA correct me if im wrong, but i believe with CX most of the successful applicants are not local born/didn't grow up in hk

[Lowspirited]

what do u classify as local born? most were actually born in HK, just not educated in HK thus their english standard is high enough to not have major difficulties with the ground exams... i heard quite a few fail the course because of english problems, those are mainly the local educated candidates. of course there are some that weren't even born in HK but parents hold HKID...

[Airforcer]

where you live? why dun you apply for the cadet pilot program in ur country?

yeh what they said are right... the competition is always very keen for thousands of Hong Kong residents......

[Koyo]

Well never say never. I was browsing the Singapore Airline website and it have CPP slots for India citizens. However, different companies operate under different rules. While it won't hurt to fire off an e-mail to CX, I doubt you will receive the desire answer. In my opinion, I don't think CX will offer CPP to Europeans and North Americans for the simple fact that they can source experienced pilots from their airlines and air forces. No reasons to pay for their training when either the pilots themselves or their governments already paid for it.

[Blueangelz]

it is highly unlikely that any non-hk residents would be allowed into the cx cadet pilot program.
cathay pacific are trying to localise their pilots at the moment which means that they want hong kong people to fly their planes, after all they are a hong kong airline, and more to the point, foreign pilots tend to demand alot, hence all the strikes...
more so, the point of the cx cade program is that they want to extend the oppurtuity of learning how to fly to hk citizens as this is a rare and exp oppurtunity for most, which is why this is in a way a *priviledge* for hk people.
finally i think the only reason why people think that most of the successful candidates are non hk born etc is purely because of the english standards of the candidates and does not have anything to do with their nationalities.
singapore airlines i believe is the only one that allow foreign nationals to apply for this position and this is because (i believe) they are expanding their fleet massively and there are just not enough interest /too small a country

[daveip]

maybe i should have said "local born and bred"
i have heard that many resident locals fail on the english part of the application as english isn't the primary language in hk education.

another reason why cx would want to hire HK perm residents (as in those that have right of abode and work in hk) is that they don't have to shell out as much for bonuses that expats get (e.g. housing, education for kids etc etc) makes sense really.

in the end ... if you really have the desire to become a pilot then you'll be able to find a way. =)

[flyer_spotter]

You have to be either born in Hong Kong or lived in Hong Kong for more than seven years...

[daveip]

I believe its just ***A on your ID card

Cathay asked me to send a copy of my ID Card to them to prove that I'm a HK resident (the id card number i put on my application didn't check out =S) but never did they ask me whether I was born in HK or lived in HK for 7 years. Neither of which is applicable to me

[Cheukert]

not really...
I have never lived in HK for more then 2 months and neither am I born in HK, but I do have a permanent HKID

[daveip]

wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_ID_Card#Eligibility
i have ***AO on my id card

[guybrush]

Thanks a lot guys (and gals)!:ok:

You're all indeed kind to provide such information. Alas, it's not what I hoped for (but was expecting that). I can understand why they are only targeting HK residents, and they have a right to, but that still doesn't solve my training costs/ job opportunities problemn:{ .

Well, thanks again :ok:
guybrush

[404 Titan]

To set the records straight for all wannabe cadets. You MUST repeat MUST have perminant residency for Hong Kong to be accepted into the CX CPP. You don't need to have been born here or currently live here though. CX has employed a number of cadets that are Anglo in their looks and birthright but they all had perminant residency rights to live in Hong Kong because of their parents or previous employment here.

CX may get lots of applicants for the CPP but very few will ever get an interview and very very few will ever get the job. The reality is most don't have the driving passion for flying and only thought about applying when they saw the add in a news paper or on the CX web sight.

CX aren't employing cadets to get rid of all the expats. Some may want to think that they are but the reality is there simply isn't the number of suitably qualified candidates in HK to drive CX's expansion plans. At present the maximum number of cadets trained a year is about 36. For the last few years we have been employing about 200 - 250 pilots per annum. You do the maths.

[dc1011]

It is true that they try to employ about 200-250 pilots per annum. I had a chat with a CX staff long time ago, she stated that CX really wants to fit most of these vacant position with local cadets, however it is not an easy job to find that amount of locals suitable for CPP due to some reasons (lack of aviation training facilities, passion, english problem...). There are about 2000 applicants per annum, but most of them just treat CPP as a chance of getting a well paid + cool job rather than enjoy doing it for their entire remaining life. I m sure all of these people wont make it to the 3rd interview. Therefore, if u are lucky enough to get a chance of the interview (i m sure most people will do), please remember that u are not competing with the others but yourself. If they think u are suitable, u are in, otherwise u are out.

In fact i found it is easier to be a pilot in UK, u just need apply for the training in some famous flight training school (ie oxford, cabair) then u are very likely to be employed by some regional airliners once u hv graduated. Just be a little bit patience in building up hours on those B737 or A320 then sooner or later u will be flying on the B747 or whatsoever.:D

[guybrush]

dc1011,

Not to be rude, but there is a wide gap between the reputation and financial position of local UK airlines and that of CX; that alone "justifies" the more rigorous recruitment process. I hope you aren't offended by this comment, and I do apologise if you were.

Well, back to the topic at hand, has CX changed their policy on recruiting foreigners since I posted this thread? :}

Any positive news at least? :sad: (and no, I am not willing to sell my house, pay for my own training and join as a DESO...I don't have a house to sell anyway).

guybrush

[dc1011]

guybrush,

Dont worry i get what u mean. For me i m going to finish my A Level in UK soon and i will go for the best, CX CPP, before end of this year. What i meant is a plan B for those who doesnt have a chance for getting in CPP for different reasons but still wanting to be a pilot no matter where and what they are flying. Sorry for causing any confusion. :ugh:

DC;)

[404 Titan]

guybrush
Well, back to the topic at hand, has CX changed their policy on recruiting foreigners since I posted this thread?
CX hasn’t changed their policy. It is as I have stated in my post #18.

dc1011
I had a chat with a CX staff long time ago, she stated that CX really wants to fit most of these vacant position with local cadets, however it is not an easy job to find that amount of locals suitable for CPP due to some reasons
There are some in this company (names withheld) that would like to see all Gwylo pilots and managers replaced with locals. It is fanciful dreaming on their part for a number of reasons.

There are reasons why CX limits the number of new cadets a year to about 36.

• Firstly the cost. At about AUD$100K per student, funding must be limited and strictly budgeted for.

• Secondly the capacity of the flying school in Adelaide. CX isn’t the only airline to have their cadets trained there, so asking for any more might be asking too much.

• Thirdly, CX at times finds it very difficult to fill current courses. Quality candidates just aren’t out there in the numbers needed. Therefore again to ask for any more would be asking for the impossible and/or a degradation of the quality of the candidates coming through.

• Fourthly, the HKCAD would be asking serious questions if all new recruits were cadets. They have an expectation that CX properly proportions cadet entry pilots to direct entry pilots so the experience level isn’t diluted too much. Some here would say that DESO’s have diluted the experience level? It probably has slightly but with the current DESO’s mostly coming from a GA/Regional or military background and having on average 3000 hrs + total including 1000 hrs + PIC on turbine or multi engine aircraft, the experience is still there. At present CX employs about seven direct entry pilots for every cadet employed.

• And lastly, CX wouldn’t be able to drive its expansion if it had to rely on new cadets only to swell the pilot ranks.

[BusBusBus]

I think cost and quality of the applicants are two of the major factors why CX only hires a limited amount of cadets each year. Most of the cadets that I know are very keen and well prepared for their flight with a very good job knowledge. I will say most CX cadets can operate the aircraft as well as many DESO who came from other regional carries from Europe or North America. This shows how well they are trained down in Adelaide and why CX has such a strict cadet selection process.

Singapore airlines operates a different kind of cadet program where most of SQ pilot intake comes from their cadet program. This may be the reason why SQ do hires applicant from outside of Singapore.

[dc1011]

Recently i m thinking about a question: Why CX/KA is still willing to hire cadets while they can hire DE pilots instead? How can CX/KA be benefited from holding CPP in short + long term?

Hope this wont be a silly question to you guys, just wonder what do you guys think:)

Dom

[404 Titan]

dc1011
Why CX/KA is still willing to hire cadets while they can hire DE pilots instead?
Very simply for CX to be able to hire Expats in any great numbers which they require to expand the airline, it has to be seen to be hiring locals into those positions as well. Hence the CPP.

[flyer_spotter]

Why CX/KA is still willing to hire cadets while they can hire DE pilots instead?

Hiring cadets actually helps the company to save money...

Don't forget Cathay has to pay extra money to those DE pilots for allowances, which is not good for the long run, that's why the company provides this programme and tries to get as many cadets as possible.