Working as a driver on a soon-to-be-retired(tbc), ageing 4 engine Tactical Air Transport aircraft, I have witnessed first-hand the destruction of the Air(Flight)Engineer trade.
As a 1st and 2nd RO I have tried to impress upon my subordinates that there is still a mangaged career path for the young, keen Sgts and FSs - only to be told by PMA that there are 1 or 2 slots per year and those will probably go to lumpy jumpers in non-flying posts or non-med cat holding OCU REMFs who have been nowhere near the frontline in years.
Closing the school and scrapping individual brevets and identities has all but destroyed morale and enthusiasm within this proud trade.
More importantly, at my secret airbase we are shortly going to face a recruitment and retention problem into the more demanding and esoteric roles of the airframe because Air Engineers are leaving or moving onto pastures new.
The whole NCA management and career path is a shambles - but as always you reap what you sow.