It depends upon the operator, and the culture.
My background is from the Australian Airline system where Performance knowledge was sacred, understood well by most pilots, and deeply embedded in the airline culture. I can say the same of some other operators whom I've observed - QANTAS (superb), Australian Airlines, Ansett, South African Airways, Indian Airlines, Lufthansa to name a few. I'm sure that there are numerous other operators who take Performance understanding amongst pilots very seriously.
SOME DON'T.
It is my opinion that Performance UNDERSTANDING amongst pilots with my present employer is ABYSSMAL, and that's a compliment to them.
I will be the first to concede that application of performance data available, and application of company policy is very good, but deeper knowledge of the Performance BASICs is almost non-existant. They know how to do it, but don't know WHY.
When charged with doing the Performance Engineering for one of the company's subsidiaries, I wrote a Performance Training manual, I called it "Performance for Dummies". The company only showed luke-warm interest, but did publish it, and did programme 2 day courses on Performance basics for intake pilots with yours truly running it. This was well received, which surprised me a bit, it seems that the trainees did Performance 'A', got a tick in the box, and bulk erased the learning.
After I left that division, the Training Manual went out of print, and no more training courses were scheduled. Instead, a half day training of "How to use the Data" was introduced, no deeper understanding required.
Now, I spend line flights with F/Os who ask never ending questions en-route about performance. They understand the HOW, but have a strong yearning to know the WHY
I'm usually a strong supporter of my airline, but, in this area, they stink.
It depends upon the airline, and it's culture!
Regards,
Old Smokey (who will be looking for a new job soon)