Some of my SFT colleagues were making the point on TV the other night that the Government (ie CAA) needs to look at how aviation professionals are trained. It's all very well for them to have approved schools which provide all the training and running costs whilst also paying "homage" to the CAA (SFT's simulator licences alone were £££megabucks) but then have no safety net whatsoever when these private organisations fall foul of events as we have seen. The biggest loss I am aware of by a student is £19000 in this case.... meanwhile it'll keep happening until some sort of escrow or insurance protection is arranged.
On another note - why can't qualified pilots be registered like their counterparts in other professions?? The qualification process alone is worth carrying a degree equivalency. At the moment I can't believe that so much money and effort can be privately invested in a qulification which has no value outside aviation....