BOBERIC; First post and excellent. Many others have repeatedly made similar comments. Selection is vital. Let anyone in with a fat wallet and error numero uno rears it's ugly head. Minimal initial and advanced training compounds the problem. Airline selection almost non-existent. Airline, minimal button pushing training ( even to CBT and "at your own pace" modules) and we have a woeful mix. SOP's that then discourage manual flying (because the new breed couldn't cope with the unexpected) and you are now heading for incident after incident culminating in a prang .
But the low cost operators and bean counters who insist on all this from the risk-free comfort of air-conditioned armchairs still have their way. And like the CEO of one messed up major carrier just stated; " Once trained, the pilot's job is easy" ! Couple of hull losses and a few near misses resulting in zero confidence by the customers might shake up that argument, a bit. But, I doubt it.