I really hate to have to say this, gentlemen, however as mature, thinking adults, I'm sure that YOU, and your rotten, lousy mismanagement, realise that new (intake) Second/First Officers won't tip the scale either way. When it's all boiled down, it will come fairly onto the shoulders of the C&T personnel. Obviously it will be a brave man who will refuse to train, however....the length of training MUST be a consideration. For example, in the company for which I work, the C'ers & T'ers believe that management are trying to pursue unrealistic objectives by promoting F/O's asap to the lhs. They (the C&T pilots) have now not made ANY of these guys available for their final checkout with LESS than 12 months of training!
It's the old 'divide and conquer' vs the 'constant dripping of water weareth away the stone' battle.