The employer used to wear all these costs such as course fees, travel to school, wages whilst at school and if you were lucky enough casa basics.
Yes this was certainly the case when I did my Apprenticeship way back in the 1960s, I didn't realise it had changed so much.
When we sat the initial basics (Engines in my case) the Company had us at their training school to do them with CASA (or whatever they were called then) and we certainly didn't pay anything ourselves. Even when I did all my Airframe basics on my own later on, and one type course I did on my own, there were no fees involved.
I have never in my Life paid (personally) for basic exams, type courses or type exams or even type endorsements, and didn't realise it is so much like that now, maybe this is what needs changing.
In later years I did have to pay my Licence renewal every two years, but even then my most recent endorsements were always paid for by my Employer or the Company I was contracting to.
No wonder they are running out of LAMEs.