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Is the Cadet Pilot extinct down under?

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Is the Cadet Pilot extinct down under?

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Old 10th Oct 2020, 21:48
  #81 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by krismiler

A future pilot in primary school today could be looking at a wide body command with QF on the East Coast in under 10 years.
Any kid in primary school today dreaming of becoming a pilot will have a choice of becoming an astronaut or a drone pilot, or perhaps a pilot with the RFDS. 25 to 30 years from now widebody commands in the conventional sense will be on the point of extinction.
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Old 10th Oct 2020, 22:28
  #82 (permalink)  
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Originally Posted by Slezy9
What do you mean by “the way Labor Governed States are behaving”?

last time I checked NSW, SA and TAS were all Liberal Governed states and they all have border restrictions in place? Or does that not suit your narrative?
SA now open to everyone except Vic.
Tassie open from October 26 to everyone except Victoria. Hedging their bets a little on NSW but ‘expect’ to open to them too. No one mentions them too much because they don’t have too much impact on the national economy.
NSW open to everyone except Vic. I suspect that will likely change in a month if Victoria gets its act together.

QLD closed to Vic and NSW. There were two cases in NSW yesterday in a city of 6 million people. My uncle on a farm in regional NSW can’t visit QLD to see his grand kids. Stupidity.
WA still closed to everybody?
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Old 10th Oct 2020, 22:56
  #83 (permalink)  
 
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I think there’s already a few threads on this forum arguing about borders and politics.......

Having said that there’s a also been quite a few threads over the years arguing about cadetships, and what’s been written on this one isn’t really any different
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Old 11th Oct 2020, 00:39
  #84 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by Keg
I suspect that will likely change in a month if Victoria gets its act together.
That is a big “IF” when you have a lying clown in charge of the whole rock show.


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Old 11th Oct 2020, 01:11
  #85 (permalink)  
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No dispute there. Perhaps I should have said ‘get their act together despite their Premier’.
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Old 11th Oct 2020, 01:44
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Originally Posted by Derfred
Telfer, how many years’ LWOP did you take?

I’m just hoping you have put your money where your mouth is, and have taken at least 5-10 years.

I should be retired by then, so hopefully I won’t ever have to share a cockpit with you.
Mate, the troll is not even a pilot, he just comes on here to try and inflict his misery on others.

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Old 19th Oct 2020, 07:08
  #87 (permalink)  
 
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Why are cadet programs still running? Simple. They are VET funded money makers that have very little to do with the actual airline. FTA is a for profit school that, like every other VET fee provider offers a taxpayer funded product at an inflated price. (how much does a CPL cost? Whatever the VET limit happens to be that year) The more students they pump through every year, the higher the profit. Whether they get a job at the end isn't their business. No different to Soar or Basair.

They may have an 'affiliation' with qantas but at the end of the day qantas isn't the one providing the training, the students don't have a contract with Qantas, the instructors aren't from Qantas, and at the end of if they simply get the right to apply for a job. That is all.... the same job their own instructor is probably applying for!
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Old 20th Oct 2020, 04:26
  #88 (permalink)  
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So do they sign a contract? Or can they just walk away at any time without paying another cent?

To those who have just signed the dotted line or are about to? Perhaps get some legal advice. I cannnot reiterate the importance, there is no jobs with Qantas at the other end. Zero. You also have bush or tropics GA pilots ahead of you for jobs for the next five years.

FTA and Oxford are essentially non viable businesses at the moment.
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Old 20th Oct 2020, 05:22
  #89 (permalink)  
 
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Angel Is the cadet pilot extinct down under?

The cadet pilot is not extinct as long as the crook cadet pilot institutions remain and take advantage of the vulnerable. Is it worth signing up as a cadet? I would say yes if you have a contract in black and white confirming guaranteed employment, and we know that's unlikely to happen for a very very long time, bar a few jobs here and there for the special or privileged.
L.B
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Old 20th Oct 2020, 05:43
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Originally Posted by wheels_down
So do they sign a contract? Or can they just walk away at any time without paying another cent?

To those who have just signed the dotted line or are about to? Perhaps get some legal advice. I cannnot reiterate the importance, there is no jobs with Qantas at the other end. Zero. You also have bush or tropics GA pilots ahead of you for jobs for the next five years.

FTA and Oxford are essentially non viable businesses at the moment.
The FAQ section on the Qantas recruitment page (not FTA's) provides a bit more of a reality check, making it abundantly clear you sign a contract with FTA, not Qantas. That after completion you go into a talent pool, and points out that 500 hours multi is a typical requirement for a regional airline. That the cadetship is NOT a 'Qantas Group Cadetship' and that it is not a part of their Future Pilot program that they have with some Uni programs (which has been ended due to Covid anyway)

Some of my favorites:

4. If I successfully graduate from the Academy will I be guaranteed a job at Qantas?

No. However, after graduation, students will automatically join the Qantas Group’s talent pool, have access to our General Aviation partners and be part of the Academy Alumni Program, all of which combined, will help to fast track your place in the recruitment process.

Different airlines have different entry requirements and it’s best to contact prospective employers to seek advice on this matter. It is common for regional airlines to require a minimum of 500 multi-engine command hours for employment. Major airlines usually require 500 multi-engine command hours, 1500 hours total flying time and an ATPL for direct entry.

5. Is the Academy the same thing as the Qantas Group Future Pilot Program?

No. The Qantas Future Pilot Program provides Aviation students the opportunity to be mentored by experienced Qantas Group pilots during their university degree and if successful through the selection process, will transition to a job in the Qantas Group after graduation. Students from the Academy may be selected as participants in the Qantas Group Future Pilot Program based on various eligibility criteria including course performance.

7. Are the courses run at the Academy a Qantas Group cadet program?

No, there are no funded cadetships available with Qantas Group airlines. However, after graduation, students will automatically join the Qantas Group’s talent pool, have access to our General Aviation partners and be part of the Academy Alumni Program, all of which will help to fast track your place in the recruitment process.
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Old 2nd Nov 2020, 08:16
  #91 (permalink)  
 
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Hi all,

I have a spot with Basair on a course starting Jan 2021 and have also received an email for an interview with Qantas for feb (Course begins in April). Is it worth going for Qantas, knowing there is no job on the other side and the fact it's very difficult to get into? To be honest, there seems to be next to no advantage with Qantas. Is it worth just starting with Basair and be 3 months ahead?

C.S
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 07:09
  #92 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by Cscouller
Hi all,

I have a spot with Basair on a course starting Jan 2021 and have also received an email for an interview with Qantas for feb (Course begins in April). Is it worth going for Qantas, knowing there is no job on the other side and the fact it's very difficult to get into? To be honest, there seems to be next to no advantage with Qantas. Is it worth just starting with Basair and be 3 months ahead?

C.S

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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 07:17
  #93 (permalink)  
 
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All I can suggest about your dilemma is that if there are no QF Group jobs on graduation from the Qantas course (very likely to be the case), then you will be looking for a GA job just like you would be on graduation from the other course.

However, when the time comes that QF Group start hiring, someone in HR will fish around in their bottom drawer and find a list of names, and you will be a known quantity to them, so (assuming your reputation is good) you will probably be hired sooner than otherwise.

Will having the QF course in your logbook be a detriment to your employment prospects with other operators? Who knows. Probably not a detriment to a GA job, but could be a detriment to a later turboprop job if the employer wants to keep you and is worried about QF phoning you 6 weeks/months after employment.

Pros and cons, and no one can predict the future in aviation. If I had the choice and airline flying was my goal, I’d choose the QF course, but you may get different opinions from others.

3-6 month wait isn’t going to make much difference to your career because we are in a slump. If we were at the beginning of a wave then that 3-6 months can make a big difference.
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 07:52
  #94 (permalink)  
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I can’t see much on the horizon for at least 6/7 years cadet wise.

I can’t imagine the Jetstar guys being overly impressed, who are on reduced terms and hours for the next 2 years (well from what I gather), with having a batch of cadets roll on in.

Every single pilot laid off within the group should get precedence for any position within the company vs a 21yr old just walking on in. Just feels wrong.

Perhaps the young of this world need to pull
their finger out and go down the GA path. You will become a better pilot.
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 09:41
  #95 (permalink)  
 
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"Every single pilot laid off within the group should get precedence for any position within the company vs a 21yr old just walking on in. Just feels wrong."

I understand the reasons and have a lot of sympathy but you do need to keep bringing in younger people - even at low rates - otherwise in 20-40 years you're faced with disaster with all sorts of unfillable gaps.

If no one is hired out young word spreads very fast and kids just go elsewhere - then you have no demand for training and then.... a n aging industry having to overpay for people at the bottom. Pleanty of examples from other boom & bust industries like energy, mining etc etc
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 10:18
  #96 (permalink)  
 
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Sorry to rain on your parade, but I can't see the need for an airline to look at cadets for at least 5 years. Most airlines are laying off at the moment and are still overstaffed in anticipation of the recovery. Once recruitment commences again, staff who have been laid off will be first in the queue followed by those from other companies with considerable airline experience. Plenty of Australian pilots have been laid off overseas and are back home driving busses and combine harvesters. With the new contract, Cathay Pacific pilots would be better off flying a turboprop in their own country and would come back at the drop of a hat if they had the chance.

Even if you do get in, career progression can move at a glacial pace. A pilot from my previous company joined QF in 2008 as a S/O on the B744 and remained in that position until he was recently stood down and joined Pilots4Harvest2020 on Facebook, looking for work in the agricultural sector. His future aviation prospects aren't brilliant with second officer time on an obsolete type. In many other airlines, he would have already have a narrowbody command or at least be a senior widebody F/O close to upgrade. In a low cost he would probably have 6 - 7 years in the left seat already.

I would save my money until things improve and there's a realistic prospect of getting a job when you get your licence.
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 10:46
  #97 (permalink)  
 
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That SO had the opportunity to upgrade to a window seat but didn't for whatever reason.
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 13:20
  #98 (permalink)  
 
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Can’t think of any turboprop jobs in Aus paying anywhere near even the new (Severely reduced) CX contract, but I get what you are saying. When things pick up again many from CX will be looking to return home.
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 14:22
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Trying to raise a family in HKG on the new CX contract vs a decent turbine job in Australia, taking everything into account such as housing, medical, cost of living, lifestyle etc and it could be a close decision.

Bailing out of CX for QF at the first opportunity has been SOP for Australian S/Os for a long time, and with reduced terms and conditions likely to be the norm in the expat world for the foreseeable future, many pilots could decide that it’s not worth going back overseas and start lining up for the right hand seat at Virgin or J*.

Cadets would have a hard time competing against applications with thousands of hours airline flying.
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Old 3rd Nov 2020, 23:18
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They can apply to VA after April 2028.
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