The main reason for the cadet program is that the government has a big push for companies to hire and train young Emiratis for mid to high level positions. They are already a minority of the population, and with loads of cheap labor available from third world countries, and no shortage of expats looking to make a buck, entry level management type positions are generally how companies comply with this initiative.

A few general questions have already been answered, this is not the company ringing the bell in a desperate attempt to attract pilots. They don't want to type RJ drivers who will then shop around their type rating a year or to later. The company is growing quickly, and the time to command is dropping, so having a supply of young FO's who won't meet the upgrade hour requirements for 6-7 years also means having a steady group of experience in the right seat.

They have opened up the cadet program to a limited number of non-native cadets in the past, but these few dozen out of thousands of applicants world wide were often connected somehow.

It's worth a shot for those who are just getting started with flying, it's definitely a lottery ticket, however for those of you in the trenches flying as CFI's, freight dogs, or regional FOs it's probably not going to happen.