Pretty much yeah. It may seem weird, but the idea was to represent the training received as a youngling, and then as your character ages they would focus on their interests etc. I don't think it will be a major hindrance to in the long run, and will hopefully be a benefit.
I also forgot that we had agreed previously that the padawan characters would be knight level, which is an extra 150 xp. What I might have to do if it turns out having 2 knight level force users in the squad unbalances things too much is have Anler and Akua swap in and out of the group (one of the benefits of the backups idea I guess). I'll be testing it in the next session, so if everyone is happy with the dynamic it won't be a problem.