Do not believe anybody saying there is a shortage of engineers. Companies are just too cheap to inlude courses if they think they can get away with not including them. In the U.S. alone there are over twenty thousand licenced guys out there roaming around only as contractors. I refuse to pay for a single course that only benefits the companies. Problems do arise, when you need work permits. Sometimes out of stupidity of the companies looking for people, require a particular license, such as Malaysian Airlines wanting UK CAA engineers to work on US registered aircraft. What do the brits know about FAR'S? Unfortunately, if you are not flight crew, you get little respect.