The JAA proposed system is a joke! I met Ops people unable to read a simple METAR, who ran a flight plan for crews on short check in (I mean the guys in the cockpit are certainly pros, but checking all paperwork, the aircraft and start-up within 30minutes is just out of the scope).
So, what happens up in the sky, when (at one unlucky time, you realize that the one and only alternate is below mins and your destination just fogged in?). Tough luck!
Germany, just to name one expamle, has acknowledged a formal traineeship for flight attendants (with a certification by the chamber of industry and commerce). On the other hand the GALDA and the VC are fighting hard to keep the FDB license alive (if JARs win, it will be gone).
Sure, companies will have to pay more for certified staff and since dispatchers (unfortunatly) still are the best kept secret, they are in the perfect spot for being scrapped for the sake of another Vice President position (as if most airlines didn't already have enough management!).
It is dreadful and sad to see professionalism in the ops/dispatch go down the tubes and sooner or later it will show in the safety records. I don't intend to say that the usual 'learning by doing' doesn't help to become professional, but you need a basis to work from (as do the cockpit crews).
Good there is always the 'human factor' in the cockpit to blame in case something goes wrong.
Cheers
fcit