CRAB
Perhaps the most important aspect of military aviation is that they do not, as a rule, pay for an expensive and extensive training course so you can wear it on your CV as a 'trophy'. You do the course because you are destined to spend the next one or two (or more) years working as a Flight Instructor. Teaching day in day out for that period gives you the skills to be able to properly understand the teaching and learning process whereas a dicky little 'box-ticking' number will at best only equip you to repeat your PPL experience to those wannabes with enough money to throw at the task.
I cannot see for the life of me why this transparent problem is so difficult for the authorities to understand. If the industry wants pilots there should be no structural subsidy in the form of weak and ineffective regulations but instead the industry must put their hands in their pockets and run proper 'cadet' schemes that have proved successful in the past. Only when operating companies have to pay are they then concerned about the value they get for their money.
If I have to say this one more time I'll go off pop but from where I sit more than 50% of the pilots I train are below the required standard. Yes we can get most of that 50% through a TR course because a TR course is another example of 'box-ticking' at it's 'best'. I am not alone, I mentioned this to a colleague yesterday and he said that he wouldn't want to fly with many of the people we see if they were passengers let alone occupying a front seat. Hyperbole is a poor form of communication but sometimes it helps to get the message across.
What ever happened to Competence Based Training?
G.