Dear Mr CargoJock,
It is clearly stated that the FO flying sector is at the sole discretion of the commander. Whatever stated are only guidelines.
If the captain is confident that the FO is able to handle the weather condition, he can actually allows the FO the fly in conditions above the recommended guidelines.
If you look at it more carefully, the initial SO training stated very clearly that it is a LIMIT and not guidelines. Once they attain sufficient experience, it will solely be at the training captain's discretion, that is back to the FO flying guidelines.
We are given ample opportunities to hone our manual flying skills and in my opinion, whatever was stated above is not a true representation of the SQ culture.
Do correct me if I am wrong.