Instrument Rating (fATPL test)
I think the widening acceptance of the MPL as a divergent route divorced from the single crew IR training requiement of the fATPL raises the issue of whether such a rating meets industry needs.
Training for the IR and the training that often involves endless circling round an NDB in a 6 pack display geratric twin at 10 euro/minute has limited take-up in the UK where only a handful of PPLs do it every year. The fATPL pilots have to do the multi-crew IR AFTER passing this flight test. Its inefficient training..
When the syllabus moves on beyond NDBs and away from old 6 pack displays into GPS approaches and glass cockpits and training in simulators that are cheaper to run than the old technology currently deployed we may finally have a rating that has some validity in todays real world. EASA is moving very slowly in this area compared to the FAA and that explains why many business leaders in Europe who are pilots have FAA IR's - they understand this..