SAS
What I am in effect saying is that when you decide what is required by way of training you can't then turn your back on it and accept something a great deal less. Level D or acceptable alternatives are the way so let's not pretend that the inconvenient truth that they are expensive and few and far between get in the way. By all means step up to the plate and confess that we have to accept second rate training because we can't afford the real McCoy but please don't pretend that it's OK. Folk that missed out on the initial sim training could if we admitted the shortcoming, be programmed for Recurrent (sim) Training at the earliest opportunity and the licensing authorities could mandate that.
It is not amusing to encounter those with years of experience on the aircraft who do not know how the systems work and cannot handle simple system failures. Turns out they were trained on the real aircraft and have never seen the inside of a sim before that day. Not acceptable.
By the way SAS I am no longer at the AWTA and have 'semi-retired' so I make a living doing a bit of freelance SFI work and am available for any related work if required. Time to relax a bit and enjoy the grandkids. No axe to grind any more, just want to lift the lid on the fact that we are not currently heading in the right direction as far as training is concerned. Too many bean counters driving aviation companies and not enough 'sharp-end' people who really understand the issues.
G.