Why the presumption that you are only going to get 21 year old 250hr pilots? I'll be applying for the NetJet/OAT scheme, I'm not 21 (i'm not much more), and when I come out I may only have 250hrs, but what my face wont show is that I also have 10 years and about 700 hrs gliding - both in a competition and instructing enviroment. Motorgliding / Microlighting, they all add experience, not to the ATPL tho it appears....
I lost out to sponsored training due to 9/11 (had been accepted on a course which was subsequently cancelled) this gave me the opportunity of working in many areas of the aviation industry with many excellent people.
I've been lucky enough to fly a very wide range of fantastic aircraft - but lacking a full PPL(A), I can't log it. In an engineering environment, we flew all round the country maintaining customers planes, new strips, different weather, new types. None of this will show in a logbook, just photos and memories.
I am now a type rated (on big jets) LAE with a major UK Airline, and it is only now that I am in a position to fund myself to the next level and a move to flight deck.
Please don't tar all ab-initio wannabes with the same brush, I'm sure there are many out there who have been striving for this since they were very young. Unfortunately my background wasn't condusive to this career route, I've not been as lucky as some people I know - afterall mum and dad can't pay for me to go to oxford - but I'd like to go there and i've worked hard to get within half a chance of doing so.
Some of the comments here have been a little close to the edge, childish almost. I'm sure as a member of the flightdeck, there is a responsibility there to work with your colleagues as a team, if your colleague is fresh out of training, surely you give them a chance, and don't take him/her for face value, afterall, even YOU had to start somewhere....