Aviate378
I am curious as to why you edited your post. I was elsewhere when I noticed that you had seen a howler of mine! Quite right too.
What I meant to say was "It costs literally £000's more to train now than it did X years ago." My apologies but I think your ribbing regarding the finance department was well justified.
I no longer have a nice Captains wallet but I do realise that a young guy must be totally dedicated and have the support of a bank, or a very rich father. But, the fact is that it is not only GAS who are asking for sim assessment costs, many airlines do that now. It is a sign of the times and another giant leap on to the commercial ladder.
What they must do is be very wary and be sure that what they are offered is genuine and cannot be reneged upon. The real risk is their ability to do the IR work correctly. Mess that up and he or she is likely to be out of pocket. Castings aspersions on that particular subject is unnecessary and can be libellous. Just make sure the details are well known before proceeding.
As to your final comment I cannot disagree with you. GAS HAVE to be open and honest about final line checks leading to a contractually safe job. It should NOT encourage people to take on the committment unless this is forthcoming. That would be the fair and honest thing to do.
So, if I may re-iterate what I have said before. Due diligence is your only early safeguard. Consider the £850 outlay. Are you good enough to do a sim assessment. Can you scan correctly, can you do, without screwing up say, a LGW departure to MAY and a good well ordered approach to LGW. It's not VERY difficult if you can cope. If you can't, and you know you can't don't spend the money - yet!
I think I will leave my input at that.