Must be a Nigel
Don't mean to get involved in all this company bashing, but if you ask me, (which I know your not), but it sounds like you sir (blackred1443) are BA.
In that case, I know of a few people who are FO TRIs down your way. They do EXACTLY the same job as Ryanair SFIs. So because they are in a blue and silver uniform and have a little hat makes it fine, however if Ryanair do it then it is horrific!!
Also, referring to the point that people who are SFIs tend to do better in the command course, that often has a little to do with the fact they are part of the training department if you know what I mean.
The command course is nothing to do with how you fly the plane on one engine, or how well you read the checklist. Do what you have done for the past 4 years and you can pass the 4 day command sims with ease. It is all about how you manage the day to day operations. Your decision making process. Just because you have 500 hours of sitting in the back of a full motion MS Flight Sim doesn't mean you can interact well with ground staff and cabin crew, ops and crewing, and most importantly multitask 5 things at once on a 25 min turn around when it is winter ops and your running late!!
Everyone bashes Ryanair, and believe me when I say I am not the biggest FR fan in the world, but look at our stats compared to all the other companies in the UK. You will see that accidents, incidents and the like are no different any other operator including BA!! It just in Ryanair you don't have to wait for 60 year old Nigel to pop his clogs or take his final salary pension before you can leave the comfort of the RHS where you have been for the last 15 years waiting for your number to come up.
Put it this way, it's not a willy waving competition, but Ryanair is no Onur Air!!