The CTC Wings (Cadets) Thread - Part 2.
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Cheers speedbird cadet, I'm glad we got our point across.
Ps. I'm just a little bit very jealous that you're on the ba fpp and get to fly for ba once you graduate, hopefully see you on the flight deck some day
Ps. I'm just a little bit very jealous that you're on the ba fpp and get to fly for ba once you graduate, hopefully see you on the flight deck some day
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CTC Wings
There are pro and cons for the right age to start a flight training course with a suitable training school.
The younger you start the more years you'll get up in the air is what it's all about,whereas the older you are, possibly the amount of material to be learnt to get to your goal might sink in easier.
Each to his/her own i say.
The younger you start the more years you'll get up in the air is what it's all about,whereas the older you are, possibly the amount of material to be learnt to get to your goal might sink in easier.
Each to his/her own i say.
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I agree that there are pros and cons to different ages to start training but I disagree with what you said about being older and material "sinking in easier". I disagree because I think young men and women who come straight from school/college/university are used to full time studying and are more capable of learning and grasping new things, courtesy of their age. If an older person who has maybe been sitting in an office job for say 5 years were to start flight training I think it would feel a lot more intense than someone coming from that studying environment and mentality.
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It certainly isn't a guaranteed job. I do moan sometimes about the way they conduct themselves when dealing with their cadets but when it comes to setting up their cadets with job interviews and helping them to pass those interviews they seem pretty good. I have heard of a few casualties along the way but this is mainly down to poor attitude, inadequate performance or often a combination of both.
So CTC line you up an interview and you mess it up. What next? Do they help with a second interview? I doubt it. Some people wait 18 months for this golden interview and miss out so what then? Tesco for 10 years to pay your debt?
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A fairly good description of what happens at the end of your training with regards to getting a job is given in a cadet blog on the CTC website.
"The responsibility of placing cadets from the hold pool has recently changed hands, and is now handled by a branch of CTC called Airline Recruitment Ltd (ARL). There were a few teething problems during their take over of the pool, but all in all they're ok to deal with. They send out a monthly update e-mail giving the current job situation and any opportunities that are on the horizon, and there seems to be a lot of activity at the moment which is great news for anyone finishing soon! There is now basically a rule of 2 in the hold pool. This means you can turn-down up to two opportunities, be unsuccessful in up to two airline assessments, or be in the hold pool for a maximum of 2 years. After that, you're on your own! I think as there's so many people coming through CTC at the moment, they need to implement some rules or the hold pool will be huge"
"The responsibility of placing cadets from the hold pool has recently changed hands, and is now handled by a branch of CTC called Airline Recruitment Ltd (ARL). There were a few teething problems during their take over of the pool, but all in all they're ok to deal with. They send out a monthly update e-mail giving the current job situation and any opportunities that are on the horizon, and there seems to be a lot of activity at the moment which is great news for anyone finishing soon! There is now basically a rule of 2 in the hold pool. This means you can turn-down up to two opportunities, be unsuccessful in up to two airline assessments, or be in the hold pool for a maximum of 2 years. After that, you're on your own! I think as there's so many people coming through CTC at the moment, they need to implement some rules or the hold pool will be huge"
A cadet blog on the CTC website? I would be very sceptical of anything written on there.
It seems the chances of getting a job being a CTC graduate seem a bit better than the other big schools. Just remember there are plenty of CTC grads who haven't secured a flying job and are paying back big loans with nothing to show for it.
Just remember CTC are a business. Selling CPL courses is what they do. When your dealing with sales people you have to be very good at telling the sales pitch from the facts. They are always going to tell you a shortage of pilots is just around the corner and the industry is on the up. They will then tell you if you don't act now you may miss out.
They all talk the talk when money is involved.
It seems the chances of getting a job being a CTC graduate seem a bit better than the other big schools. Just remember there are plenty of CTC grads who haven't secured a flying job and are paying back big loans with nothing to show for it.
Just remember CTC are a business. Selling CPL courses is what they do. When your dealing with sales people you have to be very good at telling the sales pitch from the facts. They are always going to tell you a shortage of pilots is just around the corner and the industry is on the up. They will then tell you if you don't act now you may miss out.
They all talk the talk when money is involved.
@pilotchute you seem very bitter about something... did you get rejected from ctc? If you read through the blogs you would see it's not all positive about ctc, but they intend to give a real view on whats occurring at the time. One i just read talked about ctc being so unorganized that the first cadets they sent to arizona will actually finish their training in NZ as they hadn't organized their new da42's to be delivered to AZ yet!
If CTC do anything well it's the job placement. at the moment, cadets are coming out of AQC and getting application packs for airlines the week after. Flybe, Easyjet and BA have all taken cadets in the last 2 months and there are more selecion days coming up soon. You get 2 opportunities so if you do 'mess up' an interview, ctc will help you to get another one - basically what @doz111 said.
If CTC do anything well it's the job placement. at the moment, cadets are coming out of AQC and getting application packs for airlines the week after. Flybe, Easyjet and BA have all taken cadets in the last 2 months and there are more selecion days coming up soon. You get 2 opportunities so if you do 'mess up' an interview, ctc will help you to get another one - basically what @doz111 said.
Planedrive,
I work as a pilot and didn't go to CTC for training. The place that I work in now sees a a constant stream of hopefuls turning up weekly with a fresh cpl from one of the sausage factories in the uk/eu.
The recurrent theme is that they have paid huge sums of money with the promises of interviews with easy/flybe etc. Reality is they may have gotten an interview or two but then they are on their own. If they were paying modular prices then getting an interview at the end is a bonus but when your getting close to 100k pounds before being typed I would expect to be walking straight out of a DA42 and into a jet. This is the way it's sold but the reality is it doesn't work like that.
Doing a CTC assessment and passing simply means they think you can pass the course in the given timeframe. A job interview is a different beast all together. Ask the guys aimhigh is talking about. I have heard rumours that sometimes interviews are held and 30-40 people are called but only 1 or 2 were ever going to get a job. Do that a few times and hey presto the pool is empty and you got your "shot" at a job. Waiting around for three assessments could have you waiting a while.
Also be wary of the "stories" about easy and BA all taking people recently. Some of these guys could have interviewed months and in Qatars case years ago. The big schools love these rumours as they keep classes full and the money rolling in.
I work as a pilot and didn't go to CTC for training. The place that I work in now sees a a constant stream of hopefuls turning up weekly with a fresh cpl from one of the sausage factories in the uk/eu.
The recurrent theme is that they have paid huge sums of money with the promises of interviews with easy/flybe etc. Reality is they may have gotten an interview or two but then they are on their own. If they were paying modular prices then getting an interview at the end is a bonus but when your getting close to 100k pounds before being typed I would expect to be walking straight out of a DA42 and into a jet. This is the way it's sold but the reality is it doesn't work like that.
Doing a CTC assessment and passing simply means they think you can pass the course in the given timeframe. A job interview is a different beast all together. Ask the guys aimhigh is talking about. I have heard rumours that sometimes interviews are held and 30-40 people are called but only 1 or 2 were ever going to get a job. Do that a few times and hey presto the pool is empty and you got your "shot" at a job. Waiting around for three assessments could have you waiting a while.
Also be wary of the "stories" about easy and BA all taking people recently. Some of these guys could have interviewed months and in Qatars case years ago. The big schools love these rumours as they keep classes full and the money rolling in.
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So many negative people, it's like you don't want new pilots to get a job. Pilots coming out of CTC, OAA etc do get jobs. If it was all a scam and no one got jobs it would have been found out by now and people wouldn't be spending 100k on it. Why don't you stop focusing on those who don't get jobs and focus on the high percentage of cadets that do.
Pilotchute, don't believe all rumours you hear. For a fact, a week and a half ago 25 wings pilots and 8 take off pilots went for interviews. The vast majority (21 out of 25 wings - i don't know about take off) got offers from that airline and they will be starting type ratings between august and the middle of october. These are people who finished their course in may/june/july of this year.
Yes there are people who mess up, but if you look at/know of those who didn't get in then you can usually see the reason why! Since the 'rule of two' came in I have only heard of one person who has been turned down by two different airlines but I don't know what happens to him now.
and don't be so wary of the true stories. BA, Flybe and Easy all have wings cadets, interviewed over the summer on type rating courses at the moment. Fact.
Yes there are people who mess up, but if you look at/know of those who didn't get in then you can usually see the reason why! Since the 'rule of two' came in I have only heard of one person who has been turned down by two different airlines but I don't know what happens to him now.
and don't be so wary of the true stories. BA, Flybe and Easy all have wings cadets, interviewed over the summer on type rating courses at the moment. Fact.
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The hold pool is somewhat an unsolvable mystery it seems after chatting to wings cadets! It seems CTC don't like to publically disclose details of the hold pool. Cadets have been demanding information but so far CTC has failed to provide answers. The cynic could say there is no hold pool, but it seems the majority get jobs. It's also worth noting that a large chunk of the cadets here at CTC currently are pre-selected. The most recent cadets seemed to wait about 2-3 months to get job offers.
I know, like planedrive for a fact that interviews have been conducted by easyJet, BA (for extra cadets to augment FPP1 intake) and Flybe. 6 cadets were pre-selected by Flybe for the 'Flybe wings' scheme and started training in Sep 2012. These pilots are now well into their Q400 (fully paid for) type rating course. I know of a handful of individuals who were recently hired by easyJet and are awaiting a TR date. Further to this I am aware of one individual who was taken on by BA, with a further 4 who I don't personally know. The future for wings cadets looked
only a year or two ago, but is looking better now. I am aware of some being cut, but this is mainly due to their own fault as opposed to not obtaining an interview.
By the way I'm not a wings cadet so not biased in anyway, nor am painting a rosy picture. This is the truth. I also take any information from CTC with an enormous shovel of salt.
I know, like planedrive for a fact that interviews have been conducted by easyJet, BA (for extra cadets to augment FPP1 intake) and Flybe. 6 cadets were pre-selected by Flybe for the 'Flybe wings' scheme and started training in Sep 2012. These pilots are now well into their Q400 (fully paid for) type rating course. I know of a handful of individuals who were recently hired by easyJet and are awaiting a TR date. Further to this I am aware of one individual who was taken on by BA, with a further 4 who I don't personally know. The future for wings cadets looked
only a year or two ago, but is looking better now. I am aware of some being cut, but this is mainly due to their own fault as opposed to not obtaining an interview.By the way I'm not a wings cadet so not biased in anyway, nor am painting a rosy picture. This is the truth. I also take any information from CTC with an enormous shovel of salt.
Guys,
CTC and OAA alone are pumping out 35-40 cadets a month between them. Are you telling me the majority of these guys get jobs?
The majority get hired someone says? Who says? Where is this info coming from? The school? A bunch of cadets sitting around exaggerating the numbers?
CTC and OAA alone are pumping out 35-40 cadets a month between them. Are you telling me the majority of these guys get jobs?
The majority get hired someone says? Who says? Where is this info coming from? The school? A bunch of cadets sitting around exaggerating the numbers?
I can't say about OAA as I don't personally know anyone there, but yes the majority of CTC grads get jobs - as I and others have pointed out to you in the last couple of posts. This is from actually KNOWING CTC grads, not just making up rumours to suit the theory that you want to promote. Agreed a couple of years ago the numbers were much much worse, but these days - like it or not - CTC grads are finishing their courses and getting applications for jobs within a couple of weeks.
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Recently started a blog for friends/family/other aspiring pilots to follow my progress as I pass through CTC.
I'll leave the link if anyone is interested in giving it a read, thanks
http://jordanpilotplatt.********.com
If the link doesn't work, it's jordanpilotplatt.blog spot.com
I'll leave the link if anyone is interested in giving it a read, thanks
http://jordanpilotplatt.********.com
If the link doesn't work, it's jordanpilotplatt.blog spot.com