Bug a Lugs..
that is a crock!
I actually work in an industry outside of aviation. My outside looking in view of the aviation trades sector, is that it is one of the healthiest in the country. My industry is automotive body.
At current the auto body industry employs .0003 of an apprentice per workshop. How does that compare to the aviation industry? It is probably very close to 1 per workshop.
Barring a few operators, the aviation industry has a better mindset for training new people than the auto industry does.
I personally would employ at least 2 more apprentices, but i don't have the tradesmen to cover them.
As i stated earlier, it is a 2 fold problem..............begining with the education system and ending with prospective employers
Cheers
Jas