Matt Whiting wrote:
Then why have licenses at all?

Rhetorical question, I know...

Because they're an indicator that an individual has been trained for a
task to a known standard of competancy. I know of a local guy that
*did* take flying lessons at one point but never got his license, who
got busted not too long ago for flying a King Air 200 for a charter
company. Unbelievable that this could slip between the cracks.