Depends on what the specific airline wants in the long-term run, I guess. Hiring qualified personnel makes things a lot cheaper and easier for the airline - and there probably won't be any shortage of rated pilots for at least two or three years from now. On the other hand, paying for one's type rating means making them sign a training bond for anywhere between 3 and 5 years. And the bond amount is often a lot higher than the real cost of the type rating course and doesn't necessarily decrease with time served before the end of the contract. At the same time, this doesn't preclude the airline from recovering the training costs from the individual's salary. So, funding a candidate's type rating can be a way to make sure that they will stay for some time and won't jump ships as soon as they get their 500/1000/1500 hours on type. But hey, if there are hardly any jobs around, they're not going anywhere even without being bonded.