I think you need to be more specific, but as a trainer I would not explain "understanding descent management" as a common explanation for being behind the aircraft.
The main issue with young ab-initio's from my experience are two-fold. Item 1 is time management. You have trainees who have perfect understanding of descent management "in the books", but execute it in a fast moving environment where a "position" or "gate" is not waiting (with these words I mean a combination of altitude/speed/configuration at a specific point that has be achieved whatever happens, or you're in trouble) issomething different.There is a lot of doubt and hesitation in the actions of these trainees. Some of it I will agree is installed by instructors as many believe there is only one specific way to do things. If the trainee wants to approach it differently, these instructors might intervene too early. It is a the common struggle: you might do ok with instructor A, and instructor Z starts to fire remarks. Instructors are just normal people.
However, if you don't understand descent management as a trainee, you had to speak up. This is problem item 2: assertiveness. Training is not unidirectional. Training is cooperation. If you don't ask the questions, you might not get the answers. In some companies (like mine) there are specific briefings to be covered, one of them is descent management. If that briefing is signed off, I expect you to have the basic knowledge. If not, I will ask the question or simply "demo" it on the first sector and guide you along on other sectors.
Last edited by BraceBrace; 4th Dec 2023 at 13:49.