This subject is one that is somewhat dear to me. Tragically I believe that we are now suffering a form of cancer in the industry which is the result of over twenty generations of junior flying instructors teaching junior flying instructors teaching junior flying instructors…..etc.… WITHOUT appropriate supervision. How many senior instructors or CFI's now fly with their line instructors? How many students get checked during their progress, as a check on the instructor? Not that many I would bet.
The general product with a new CPL is very poor. They seem to think that everyone owes them a job, but when you suggest the only way up is to go bush and fly a single for a year, they don't 'cause they believe they should be in a twin.
I have seen over the year's pilots join my company and they don't even have their basic flying skills refined. Airmanship seems to be a thing of the past. Radio procedures are yet another area where there is no standardization. The ability to make a constant powered approach to a nominated point on the runway is something that is foreign to many!
The trouble is that this cancer is now evident at training levels within some airlines because there is no effort by CASA to ensure that training pilots are given even the basic instructional skills of a grade 2 or 1 instructor - not even a PMI course. And as many of the pilots in the industry have never been an instructor they do not have even the books at home to revise from. Tragic..! Further, because they become C&T Capts they then think they are experts… sorry, but I know a few such people that would not make the grade at a country flying school as a grade III. And CASA does not have either the guts or ability to address the problem, mainly I suspect because many of the FOIs are a victim of the same cancer.
Further there is very little that can be done about it… And I don't think this problem is unique to Australia. My observations show the cancer exists all over… Just maybe the only way to fix it is at the very bottom ??