Well, mistake or not, at the risk of expanding this discussion beyond Fantaman's question, I think we can be reasonably certain that eng training/recruitment will re-commence sometime in the future. Yes, the school is closed and the resources to produce an eng of the traditional style have probably gone forever. There were too many staff, and there would have been too many in the future, for the diminishing training requirement in the years ahead. However, we know that one aircraft type (E3) is already scheduled to remain in service long after the last student to graduate from Cranwell will reach Age 55 and give any achievable Continued Service. Furthermore, I doubt that there will be sufficient numbers of civilian flight engineers to meet the future recruitment need. The RAF will have to recruit engs from other military organisations or recommence type-specific training to an acceptable standard for the relevant aircraft. The concept of utilising OCU resources has been muted and needs close examination. It is achievable with the right personnel selected for the training. I would suggest that the RAF should draw from established volunteer NCA, with solid airmanship, with experience on the type in question. Clearly, there are some types and roles which are beyond the scope of this concept, but Nimrod and Herc K are worth considering.
Is this something we should be working on now? I believe it is.