Rosters
Keithl - one thing I suspect is that the equal time rosters make this sort of training much harder. With a 4:2 type roster, pilots were at work for more days (about 27 more IIRC) and so could fly less each day to stay within their annual totals and/or had more days on standby or when they could be spared for training.
Now, with the equal time roster, every day "on" is precious to the company and so the current situation is not surprising. Perhaps it is time for the Union to put flight safety ahead of lifestyle and agree that a few of those many days off per year can be assigned to recurrent training?