I have been looking at statements by posters from various parts of the world regarding use of the manual pitch trim and there appears to be a dichotomy of views.
Posters from Europe seem to believe that you will never touch the manual trim wheel while airborne. And if you do use the trim wheel during a training session, you will not pass.
http://www.pprune.org/6476909-post77.html by Svarin and
http://www.pprune.org/6477104-post106.html by Svarin
http://www.pprune.org/6476888-post72.html by Narval
A poster from Hong Kong says, yes you don't use it often, but there are times when its use is highly appropriate, and he remembers using the manual pitch trim during training.
http://www.pprune.org/6479397-post419.html by cxhk
There is one of those little rules that we all know to be true.
It is use it or lose it.
It appears that non-use of the manual pitch trim is dogma in European training centers. The Hong Kong poster's statement highlights a more pragmatic view.
We have now planted two European Crewed Airbus aircraft in stall related situations where timely use of manual pitch trim would have been the fist step in saving the day.
Under the pressures of the moment, it never occured to the crews to lay hands on the manual pitch trim, or apparently even to look down at it to see where the trim was.
It would seem that Airbus drivers everywhere need some training reminders on the use of manual pitch trim.
The old training dogmas regarding manual pitch trim use need to be thrown into the dustbin.