Well I am glad now that I started this thread, even if nobody else is, as I was worried about this shortage of LAMEs and did NOT realise things had changed so much in the Industry.
When I started as an Apprentice back in 1963, incidentally a 5 year term in those days not 4, the course subjects and exams at Tech were definitely NOT related to the CASA (or whatever it was then) basic exam subjects, something which annoyed us greatly.
We attended our Company training school half a day a week as well as one day a week at Tech all through our time, and during our 4th year we attended the Company training school for several weeks of training on the subjects for the CASA basic exams and sat for same at the school at no cost to us. All Apprentices were also given a type course prior to finishing your Apprenticeship, and in some cases people were qualified to hold a Licence PRIOR to ending their 5 year Apprenticeship but could NOT obviously because as an Apprentice you could not be legally responsible.
Most of us including me became LAMEs very soon after finishing our Apprenticeships, and the vast majority stayed in the Industry for a very long time as LAMEs, many like me all our working Life, in fact the ONLY ones I can remember leaving the LAME ranks were quite a few that went off as Flight Engineers.
The comment about the cost of tools too, I do realise how much they cost, but way back in the 1960s we Apprentices were given a complete set of tools and toolbox which were yours to keep as long as you finished your Apprenticeship.
ANY WONDER THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF LAMES NOW.
