Brian, as Courtenay says CFS mandate that instructors carrying out initial instruction on OCUs should be QFIs although for a long time due to a shortage of CFS trained instructors they have had to use FIs who are locally trained experienced pilots. It is a very valid argument that instructors teaching on a ME type do not need to have a background in EFT as the jobs are quite dissimilar & especially so with the newer fly-by-wire sidestick types where there can be no 'follow me through' stuff, but CFS is the only formal venue the RAF has for instructor training. It is also true that EFT, BFT & AFT are good places to learn instructional skills that transfer across to the OCUs but a QFI also needs to have considerable experience on the ME type before he can instruct on it, I have seen what can happen if someone is rushed into OCU instruction before they are competent on type. FIs generally have that level of experience already even if they lack the instructional training which can be rather sparse & once they get their initial qualification they are rather left to their own devices as there is no specific pathway for improvement unlike within CFS with its B2 - B1 - A2 progression.
We have no equivalent to the civil TRI & FIs are type specific, once you move to a new ac you cease to be an instructor although it's obviously easier to become an FI again on the new type with a previous instructional background. This was what the new QPI qualification was meant to address but that's all rather fallen apart. Some form of TRI type of qualification would be a good thing & recognise the valuable job done by the non-QFIs but it should come with a recognised pathway of developmental training rather than just an annual check of competency by STANEVAL.
We seem to have drifted a long way from the original theme into the territory of the military QFI thread! The second episode of Fighter Pilot was on TV during my first visit to OASC at Biggin Hill although I saw very little of it from my place outside the door so packed was the TV room.