NutLoose,
We may have differed in the past but I'm with you, Heart and Soul, on this subject.
This is a straight - "If you want the job - get the qualification" item.
Military pilots get wings that don't work in Civvy St - because they don't know all the civvy rules and have ingrained military practices.
The same goes for some MT Drivers, training lecturers, Admin-ers, RAF Police, Firemen, ATC folk and aircraft engineers.
All the above need to be re-taught the ways of the REAL world. Experience is not what this is about. But laws, rules and practices are different and need to be learnt, understood and used.
Cooks (probably) do know their job as much, if not more, than their civvy counterparts!
I believe that the RAF Techies trade training is now so bad that "Fault Finding" is an additional and mandatory course after the (equivalent of) Fitters Course - and that may be why MOD-taught engineers are not allowed as much as they were in the past.