Are "Training Stations" Not a Thing Anymore?

[RPINerd]

Last time I played, you could assign ships to defend a station and they would slowly but reliably gain piloting skill. I've had a bunch of pilots training for over 24 in game hours and none have gained even a portion of a star..
Did one of the updates in the last year or so remove pilot leveling from station defense?

[LameFox]

As in, without any actual combat taking place? Can't say I've heard of that, but then I rarely have ships assigned to defend where there isn't at least occasionally something to actively shoot. Even then, though, the ones I have protecting my PHQ for example never seemed to skill up to any noticeable level despite infrequent combat encounters.

I could imagine it maybe looking like passive xp gain if the sector you did this in had a steady supply of Kha'ak, since the station + defenders might kill them so fast that there was never any reason for the player to notice them. Then in your next game there might not be any where you tried it.

[grapedog]

pilots need to be doing pilot things to gain skill. fighting enemies, making trades, finding new stations while exploring... just sitting around safe and sound doesn't do anything for them.