Blacksheep I have to agree with your comments regarding the way the industry is going.
After many years I still consider myself to be privileged to have completed an apprenticeship & to have worked whilst employed by one of the few remaining British aircraft manufacturers. Sadly & surely enough, one by one the factories closed & although the job was excellent, the ending of the Cold War mean't that prospects were pretty bleak. Unfortunately I found myself in a position where I had to get out before being yet another victim of the 'British Officespace Plc' redundancy program.
Although I've no regrets about moving from manufacture to maintenance ( the salary was certainly higher )it's been a hard slog to attain the LWTRs & the subsequent type authorisations.
Whilst I don't pretend to know much about the various European licenses or what extra JAR66 modules ( if any ) our colleagues in the other JAA member states have had to attain, the numerous posts & letters I've read on this subject certainly paint a picture of doom & gloom with respect to the UK licensed Engineers.
On the face of it, IMHO we are being let down by the CAA who are only succeeding in accelerating & worsening the current trend of a ever shrinking workforce of skilled & qualified Engineers in this country.
Personally I feel there is a genuine fear that we could be heading down the same creek as the teaching & nursing professions whereby a reliance on foreign labour is becoming the cheaper & easier option.