Even if the initial training standard could be replicated, the thing that kept everybody competent in the old days was the constant need to actually do the job.
Now that the only time we do the whole job is during the incredibly rare malfunctions,
I think much of the discussion about competence is more about being able to do the basics; i.e. normal ops, not just those under non-normal (malfunction) circumstances. This concern is motivated by incompetent pilots crunching serviceable a/c. while trying to achieve the normal/basic.