jarjam,
Quality of a low time pilot will vary from school to school. It is like any business, there are companies that offer a good product and companies that offer something less.
As a low time pilot it is important to keep flying. If they do not, their skills will deteriorate over time. Then you are also tossing into the mix a new environment. Something the pilot is not accustom to adds apprehension and lowers a pilots performance. This is something that will go away with a few hours of flight time. This is not just going from the U.S.A. to Europe, the same thing would happen to a low time pilot, for example, flying in L.A. for the first time after only flying in Florida.
There is another factor. The FAA and JAA teach the same procedures slightly differently. You have to be aware of the differences and understand that it is a slightly different approach which in the end obtains the same goal.
The important thing is to approach the pilot with a positive attitude and help them make their goal of getting checked out. Just think if you were in their position. They meet their instructor and the first comment is, "Oh, you did your training in XXXXX, well we will need to do this and this and this to fix that!" Then they go up for the flight. The instructor sees the pilot doing a maneuver slightly differently to the way he would teach it and the instructor immediately takes over and says, "Where did you learn to do that? That is all wrong and you need to do it this way!" By this time the poor guy is so nervous and his morale is so low that his performance suffers severely.
This is nothing that is unique to the U.K., the same thing happens in the U.S.A. too. Someone comes from Europe to get checked out in the U.S.A. to fly for a holiday can get the exact same reaction here too. It all hinges on the instructor and his attitude/knowledge when dealing with someone flying in their country for the first time.
Happy Flying,
Capt. Richard J. Gentil, Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.