There are two routes to a licence.
- You take a fully EASA Part 147-approved course, consisting of three elements; 13 Modules, Practical Training and OJT. They must all be provided by the same Training Organisation (The OJT must be arranged and supervised by the TO, and done in a Part 145 MRO). Then you must complete 3 years work experience, and prior experience eg Apache work in the military can be counted towards that (conditions apply, as they say...)
- You simply self-study to sit and pass all the 13 Modules in a 5 year (or is it now 10?) period. But this time you need 5 years work experience (again, Apache work can count...).
The reason for the greater work experience requirement with Route 2 is because there is no Practical Training or OJT requirement with Route 2. You simply need the Modules and 5 years work experience.The extra work experience is supposed to make sure you have the right hand skills etc.
What you saw about hand skills etc is the Practical Training element that's done only in
Route 1. Relax.
This is why the full-time 2 year Part 147-approved course is probably a waste of time and money (tuition alone £15,000 or so, less any Government grant), if you already have countable experience and can get a job (contracting?) as a fitter to build up the logbook while you complete the Modules.