Points well made Scroggs - I agree entirely.....
Send Clowns
Flying an aircraft requires responsibility and decision making.
One assumes that if the pilot passes a type rating course (at a reputable FTO/TRTO), this is true
I take it from your answer you didn't have to take full responsibility in difficult circumstances when you had little experience
Yes - this happens to very pilot on his first solo.....
You seem to be missing the point about the MPL. The present integrated course does little to educate the student about CRM - one of the major criticisms from the airlines concerning low hour ab-initio F/Os. Some FTOs are now taking steps to improve this by introducing F/O "further education" programs eg. Oxford, InterCockpit Lufthansa Flight Training. The MPL is not a command rating - it is a licence for a copilot to safely fly the aircraft in a multi crew environment in abnormal conditions - that is what the type rating part of the course is designed for. As we have found in our FTO, a pilot having flown around in a C150 for 1000 hrs as P1 does not necessarily mean that he will be a more competent F/O than a zero hour student , particularly in medium/large jets. Handling skills for these types of aircraft can be adequately learned in a sim - perhaps where the higher flight time student has the advantage is with situation awareness.
As Scroggs correctly summed up, the present method of training professional pilots for the airlines needs improvement and the MPL is the first step to achieving this whilst also satisfying the quality requirements of the operators and regulating authority.