I think I am in a position to comment on the RAF Vs Civvy Engineering, I did 12 years as a Sootie/Rigger, and have been out just over a year now, having studied for my B1 & B2 EASA licences.
Sorry to say it, but the forces are YEARS behind when it comes to training their technical trades, having spent a year contracting, and now being on the brink of qualifying for the B1&2, I thought I was well prepared leaving the RAF with 12 years of experience behind me, it has been a STEEP learning curve if I am honest!
The real world is a totally different beast, there is no freindly JNCO to guide you through a new job a few times, you read the book & crack on, in the knowledge that YOU are the mech & the LAE responsible for getting this jet "S" , no handing it down shift after shift, you are the point of responsibility.
Having come from being an expert SAC tech, with years of knowledge & experience on one type, and a nice rank structure above to soften the impact, to basically bring promoted to a combined SQN LDR/ Flight sergeant is quite an eye opener!
I would say that the young apprentices are light years ahead in hand skills & technical knowledge than their forces peers, simply due to the fact that they get given much harder technical tasks & far greater responsibility than most CPLS & SNCOs.