Here's something that the pilots among us may be able to answer: do GA operators have any schemes that give pilots an endorsement or some kind of career advancement and then bonds the pilot to the operator for a period of time?
It's well known that the regions are the place where many pilots will work and build up flight hours, while studying for their ATPL, MECIR, etc. and getting PIC time, NVFR time, etc., then heading off for a job with an airline once they've logged enough minimum hours.
Where pilots have an advantage over engineers is that a freshly minted CPL doesn't (legally) require the supervision and sign-off of a "more licensed" pilot after he flies a leg. Whereas a freshly minted AME has just done 4 years of TAFE and work and STILL is supposed to be supervised and have all his work signed off by a LAME.
My idea is of a kind of "advanced apprenticeship" where a qualified AME is contracted by an MRO for a period of time (say 4-5 years) with the contract stating that by the end of the contract the AME is to have fulfilled all requirements to hold a license. This could then lead to the new LAME being bonded to the organisation for a few more years, logging experience and possibly gaining a type rated license. The question is: would any MRO actually go for that kind of system? Is it something that the aviation industry needs to look into? Or are we, as an industry, simply resigned to importing 457 Visa LAMEs, just like we import pretty much everything else now?
Cheers,
John