Mega Merged: REX Recruitment/Cadetship and Working for REX
Proof of the success of the project comes from benchmarking that revealed that two years after instituting the program in 2008, cadets were scoring slightly higher than direct entry recruits, which Rex continues to accept when applicants have the desired skills.
To date, 106 cadets have been inducted into the programme, 82 of whom have graduated and 58 of whom are now line-checked to operate the Saabs, says Hine.
To date, 106 cadets have been inducted into the programme, 82 of whom have graduated and 58 of whom are now line-checked to operate the Saabs, says Hine.
The cadets do not fail a check, as they get as many goes as they need to pass. As for no more GA recruits? BS, Last course a GA guy and a cadet failed the check. They also use the scores from the cadets 2nd 3rd and even 4th attempt to comprise these figures. Pretty hard when most of the GA guys get through first go (with a lower score than someone who had multiple shots).
The GA guys are still getting hired and getting commands within 6 months of their initial CTL, as REX have no one to upgrade! I personally think this is dangerous. I certainly was not ready to be a skipper with 6 months of multi crew time under my belt. It takes a while to learn cockpit diplomacy and refine your CRM skills. You may be able to pass the sim and rote learn the FCOM, but being a Captain is much more than that.
Chris Hine seems a nice guy to have a talk with, but geez he is in la la land!
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What's the deal with this forecast 30% profit loss compared to last years figures, with the chance of jobs being cut and marginal routes axed? Any thoughts...
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Aviator23
Just scare tactics about cutting routes, even though nth qld may be closed due VB's roll out with the ATR and some other internal issues, but I guess in general CH and other partners in crime will continue to manipulate the system, public and MP's into believing that there are no suitable pilots out there "SO NOW THERE IS A PILOT SHORTAGE" we can't find any pilots F..k in BS. Conveniently playing a game so the cadet program can proceed.
Only because they have a vested FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THE CADET SCAM FULL STOP (just like fasttrack)
Sorry I don't work for this circus but hope the F..k they down invest in the west from what I and others are hearing look out if they do. T & C's down the gurglar.
Just scare tactics about cutting routes, even though nth qld may be closed due VB's roll out with the ATR and some other internal issues, but I guess in general CH and other partners in crime will continue to manipulate the system, public and MP's into believing that there are no suitable pilots out there "SO NOW THERE IS A PILOT SHORTAGE" we can't find any pilots F..k in BS. Conveniently playing a game so the cadet program can proceed.
Only because they have a vested FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THE CADET SCAM FULL STOP (just like fasttrack)
Sorry I don't work for this circus but hope the F..k they down invest in the west from what I and others are hearing look out if they do. T & C's down the gurglar.
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Thats it Apache, EBA time means doom and gloom time! This week it'll be 30% and cutting routes and next week no doubt something else. Then at the end of the fin year they'll announce a much better that expected final quater and we might see 3-5% reduction in last years massive profit which was on the back of the financial crisis!
Funny that it coincides with both Pilot and Engineering EBA negotiations. Seems the engineers are in the same position we were in a few years ago! Maybe its time for both Pilots and Engineers to join together to make some real noise! Either that or we'll all apply for Skywest!
FMC.
Funny that it coincides with both Pilot and Engineering EBA negotiations. Seems the engineers are in the same position we were in a few years ago! Maybe its time for both Pilots and Engineers to join together to make some real noise! Either that or we'll all apply for Skywest!
FMC.
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RRrrexy turns it's back on GA:
Rex's cards are on the table now, after speaking at the World Aviation Training Conference.
(Annex/LMC: I see the threads have been merged. This link reports what "Maybegunnadoo" mentions above)
(Annex/LMC: I see the threads have been merged. This link reports what "Maybegunnadoo" mentions above)
Last edited by Chocks Away; 22nd Apr 2011 at 02:26.
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Any more word on the icus program, there sending guys to Pelair now?!?!
Comparing apples to oranges in order to fool the senate.
For all those considering Rex, fine, cant stop you if you do, but you will be complaining after a few years service when you realize how much work you do for the pay, for the lack of time off, for the treatment by management, watching your friends get greater money for less work than you do! getting rejected for a bank loan! All the fine things in life you would expect a professional to get, you wont.... so beware of the hype, and look and the fine print. You might get some fleeting attention by saying your an "airline pilot" but then your left with the reality...... beware of the "pep" talk about having pride in your career and your high cadet standards.......its a distraction from the reality...... it wont mean a thing when you cant pay your mortgage!
good luck.
Last edited by jibba_jabba; 27th Apr 2011 at 09:16.
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As with anything else in life, there are always advantages and disadvantages with a specific choice.
It might be a quick way into an airline career, but I would still encourage guys and girls toying with the idea of joining REX's cadetship to investigate it properly. Look a bit deeper than the shiny exterior of new aircraft and new facilities.
The shine of the new aircraft/facilities will soon lose its lustre, and then you will still be stuck with no command prospect, and working for a company that does not value the worth of any of its employees.
Speak to people employed by REX, and not as a cadet applicant - otherwise you might only hear what REX wants you to hear.
It might be a quick way into an airline career, but I would still encourage guys and girls toying with the idea of joining REX's cadetship to investigate it properly. Look a bit deeper than the shiny exterior of new aircraft and new facilities.
The shine of the new aircraft/facilities will soon lose its lustre, and then you will still be stuck with no command prospect, and working for a company that does not value the worth of any of its employees.
Speak to people employed by REX, and not as a cadet applicant - otherwise you might only hear what REX wants you to hear.
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Rex is a good company in many ways and has the potential to, but falls far short of being a great company to work for.
Rex can be compared to the old Ansett posters in the briefing rooms in the sim centre, the ones with the different attributes 'Pilot A' and 'Pilot B' have to make a well rounded pilot.
'Pilot A' has a well rounded score, while 'Pilot B' though having a couple of very high scores, is extremely deficient in several areas therefore doesn't make the safest, efficient or most desirable Captain.
Rex can be compared to this analogy. It scores well in some areas such as having a good choice of aircraft type, strong reinvestment back into the company, profitablity etc.
The glaringly deficient area that the company falls down in is with employee relations. Rex should be aiming to recruit and retain the best people but for years now its policy has been to try and reduce the costs associated with having staff!
While this logic when applied to other areas of a business can provide benefits and increases profits, when you try and squeeze the staff and the frontline staff at that, it is inevitable that sooner or later the business will suffer and cost more than if that investment had been appropriate at the start!
Have a read of the press release regarding the fall in profits this year and the threat immediately of 'retrenchments' and then read the latest in flight magazine opening page and the different 'good' spin on the results.
Wouldn't it be good if there were words from management along the lines of "We value our hardworking staff and even though we have a slight fall in profits we still remain one of the most profitable airlines in Australia, indeed the world, and we will work hard at ensuring that our staff remain with us and will do everything we can to avoid the possibility of retrenchments'
Instead they offer the pilots a pay cut 'CPI -0.5%'
The enginners too are being treated with disdain in their current eba negotiations.
Stonewalling councils to reduce head taxes and landing fees or threatening them with reduced services should they not cooperate may work in keeping costs down but unfortunately the same approach is used on the staff.
The glossy photos that appear in the inflight magazine of smartly dressed cadets getting their wings pinned on by beaming partners and parents while some directors or ambassadors look on is about as close as management get to engaging with their staff.
Rex management place no value on their staff. They are seen as transient and a liability! The stop gap solution was to invest millions of dollars in training their own but now it seems that a lot of the cadets are left hanging as there is no clear way forward.
Even if an icus program were approved tomorrow, it would be drawing a long bow to presume that even after 3 years of line flying a cadet will have all of the necessary prerequisites to be eligible for a command.
A lot are realising this and given that the repayments are about to increase dramatically there is no clear way forward. Direct entry pilots are still being employed and 6-12 months later leapfrogging the cadets into the left hand seat.
Management including a lot of check and training pilots are retreating into their own Baxter Road bubble further distancing themselves from the frontline staff.
History will show that Rex have been extremely successful. CRM course highlight that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.
There are a lot of great people that work and have worked at Rex. For Rex to become truly great will take an admission that mistakes have been made and that investment and engagement with its most valuable asset it has will need to be made.
It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that if this were to happen there would be a financial advantage and not a financial liability.
We can only hope
Rex can be compared to the old Ansett posters in the briefing rooms in the sim centre, the ones with the different attributes 'Pilot A' and 'Pilot B' have to make a well rounded pilot.
'Pilot A' has a well rounded score, while 'Pilot B' though having a couple of very high scores, is extremely deficient in several areas therefore doesn't make the safest, efficient or most desirable Captain.
Rex can be compared to this analogy. It scores well in some areas such as having a good choice of aircraft type, strong reinvestment back into the company, profitablity etc.
The glaringly deficient area that the company falls down in is with employee relations. Rex should be aiming to recruit and retain the best people but for years now its policy has been to try and reduce the costs associated with having staff!
While this logic when applied to other areas of a business can provide benefits and increases profits, when you try and squeeze the staff and the frontline staff at that, it is inevitable that sooner or later the business will suffer and cost more than if that investment had been appropriate at the start!
Have a read of the press release regarding the fall in profits this year and the threat immediately of 'retrenchments' and then read the latest in flight magazine opening page and the different 'good' spin on the results.
Wouldn't it be good if there were words from management along the lines of "We value our hardworking staff and even though we have a slight fall in profits we still remain one of the most profitable airlines in Australia, indeed the world, and we will work hard at ensuring that our staff remain with us and will do everything we can to avoid the possibility of retrenchments'
Instead they offer the pilots a pay cut 'CPI -0.5%'
The enginners too are being treated with disdain in their current eba negotiations.
Stonewalling councils to reduce head taxes and landing fees or threatening them with reduced services should they not cooperate may work in keeping costs down but unfortunately the same approach is used on the staff.
The glossy photos that appear in the inflight magazine of smartly dressed cadets getting their wings pinned on by beaming partners and parents while some directors or ambassadors look on is about as close as management get to engaging with their staff.
Rex management place no value on their staff. They are seen as transient and a liability! The stop gap solution was to invest millions of dollars in training their own but now it seems that a lot of the cadets are left hanging as there is no clear way forward.
Even if an icus program were approved tomorrow, it would be drawing a long bow to presume that even after 3 years of line flying a cadet will have all of the necessary prerequisites to be eligible for a command.
A lot are realising this and given that the repayments are about to increase dramatically there is no clear way forward. Direct entry pilots are still being employed and 6-12 months later leapfrogging the cadets into the left hand seat.
Management including a lot of check and training pilots are retreating into their own Baxter Road bubble further distancing themselves from the frontline staff.
History will show that Rex have been extremely successful. CRM course highlight that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.
There are a lot of great people that work and have worked at Rex. For Rex to become truly great will take an admission that mistakes have been made and that investment and engagement with its most valuable asset it has will need to be made.
It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that if this were to happen there would be a financial advantage and not a financial liability.
We can only hope
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Good first post mate. I really do feel for the course 1 cadets who are now staring down the barrel of a $750 p/m repayment on a ~$45k salary with rent and other living expenses to cover.
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Is anyone reading this a Rex 008/009/010 cadet? Or another Rex 011 cadet starting soon? Would love to have a quick chinwag about the experience and a few bits and pieces of information as I'm on the upcoming 011 course. Please message me.
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Apache: hah! I'm not bothered about people's experiences, more or less just banal pieces of information like do they provide Jepps when I get down there or should I renew my ASA subscription now that it's due. I know what I'm in for and I'm not fussed.
Youbuet: I personally wasn't asked to do one. This doesn't mean you won't be either though as every intake might differ slightly. I have heard (only hearsay) that one previous batch were sat down and told to do a maths and physics exam - and that they all failed. You would too if you were put on the spot like that so go and print off exam papers from past years. You'll find them on your state's education authority's website. My hint would be do the NSW one. Have you already had some interviews?
Youbuet: I personally wasn't asked to do one. This doesn't mean you won't be either though as every intake might differ slightly. I have heard (only hearsay) that one previous batch were sat down and told to do a maths and physics exam - and that they all failed. You would too if you were put on the spot like that so go and print off exam papers from past years. You'll find them on your state's education authority's website. My hint would be do the NSW one. Have you already had some interviews?
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Relating to my post above, I think the only actual piece of information I desperately want is an actual fixed course start date. It's supposed to be 7 weeks away but there is still no paperwork. Does anyone have an insight into what's going on?