This escalated quickly..
Helo ops are diverse and encompass a broad range of environments requiring different skills, capabilities and training.
Lumping recreational flying into the same bucket as you would military operations isn't a fair comparison.
Most people, with the correct training, have what it takes to develop basic helicopter handling skills that would allow safe private flying.
After all, If you can manage the workload of trying to survive road traffic in a busy US or European city, it really isn't a big jump to doing so above ground - granted in a less forgiving environment.
Where some work is needed is that training can sometimes be delivered as a sequential series of lessons, rather than incorporating scenarios that allow a student to properly digest the material and translate it into a practical application of skills.
The other is educating new pilots to understand that the initial license is just the beginning of your "real world" training, and to help them build a personal structure for ongoing development and maintaining currency.
Ultimately though the individual needs to take this on board. Short of regulating (which rarely improves anything) it is better to build a culture of safety and learning throughout the initial training experience.
The biggest gotcha to avoid is developing a sense of complacency, which is where I believe many of the problems begin.