The problem is not the airlines it's us... There are simply too many of us wanting to fly and it takes about a year or two of commerical flying before the rose-tinted specs come off (just taking mine off now - he he)...
If "Airline Pilot" had the same job appeal as say.... "Account Executive" (no offence to them) this problem with type ratings wouldn't exist.. but it doesn't....The bottom line is it's still overall a cool, fun rewarding job compared to being stuck in an office meeting getting b*$*"ked by David Brent because you haven't sold enough yellow, feint-margin, recycled paper this month.
As long as it remains an attractive job compared to other jobs, we will unfortunately be in competition with each other with regards qualifications, aptitude, economics, age and all the other unpleasant ways of stacking us up.