I don't think there should be a mandate for training. Full stop.if there is a mandate for training in order to exercise a right, the government should pay for the training. this would keep it from just being a step towards making it prohibitively expensive to get licensed. the fact is that these cheaper classes, which teach the participants virtually nothing, satisfy MASS law; this suggests to me that the law is designed primarily to discourage, not educate.
But in other areas where there is a mandate for training in exchange for a license (e.g., plumber's license, PE license, pilot's license), the government does not pay for the training.