The answer is simple, really, if you want to improve aviation safety.
Pay enough money to attract the right talent.
Insist on top-shelf flying skills or fire them.
We cannot engineer out the need for first-class flying skills. The recent AF A330 accident proved that.....
Just last week I completed my six-month simulator ride on the 777F. The last maneuver was a hand-flown closed circuit following a V1 cut with a fire that wouldn't go out in HKG. Complex engine-out procedure, heavy weight, initial climb rate was 300 feet per minute, dodging the ships. Went around Lantau island and rolled out on a 5 mile visual for an overweight landing at 190 knots, using most of the ~13000' runway. No way to fake it, no way to sneak through without the requisite talent.
At the end of the day, somebody onboard's still got to have some skills.