Aah Ghengis,
Just what I've been trying to lead this up to
A proper route upwards, available to all who are willing to put in the effort, that leads to a "Licence to Practice." Legally protected, and independently controlled by the practitioners themselves. I go further and propose a seperate Institute for Maintenance Engineering as a distinct discipline. We would then be Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers in a true sense!
In fact, a true profession. The Licence that I got from the ARB in nineteen-canteen was mine. It didn't belong to my employer and I exercised the privileges using my own discretion. Employers such as BOAC and BEA didn't like that, it was expensive and increased their labour costs. As aircraft fleet sizes increased in the sixties the increased demand for LAEs would inevitably drive up the wages needed to get the right people. To better control the certifiers the corproations used their political muscle to force the new CAA into publishing A8-13 and the company approval system; reducing the cost of certification through the invention of the "Certifying Tradesman." Since then we have descended further to JAR 145 and will soon take another step down to JAR 66. Standards are falling, simply to reduce costs without concern about the possible effects on airworthiness.
By the way, although I note the references to "bean counters" and agree upon the dangers that they unwittingly sponsor, my own opinion of them is based on knowledge not emotion. I have a degree in Accounting and Finance and I'm not just a "union man" trying to fight for higher pay. I feel that the downward pressure on standards has gone far enough. There will be an inevitable cost penalty if we continue down this road, and peoples' safety is put in jeopardy. Accountants work on historic costs and will only react once the bills come in. By then it will be too late.
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