Airbornespanner - you're right. The cheapest part of owning an aircraft is buying the damn thing. The owners generally don't quibble when it's big bucks to fix their flash cars but when it comes to spending money on their aerotoy, they squeal like stuck pigs.
I don't know how many apprentices I've lost over the years because of the abismal pay and conditions our industry offers. I've tried to get kids to stick with it (their apprenticeship) citing the rewards that can be attained on some heavy metal, but even that's hard to break into if you weren't lucky enough to start out in a big shed.Even the prospect of field work around the world is not enough of an insentive.
Let's hope that the shortsightedness shown by management in not fostering young starters will start to bite them hard. We can only hope that starry eyed kids (yes I admit I was one too oh so long ago) still persevere and get into this noble profession (he says while stepping down off his soap box).
Remember when you were young and stopped, looked up everytime something flew over? Hell! I still do!!