Philpaz...look for the money!
The major british trainning providors have pushed this "integrated is best" to the personel departments and in the aviation press on "quality" grounds but it is all about the money.
I have seen modular pilots pass the CPL/IR first time with one company and not be put forward for airline jobs and at the same time integrated pilots that have taken two or three attempts to pass the CPL/IR pushed into job intervews.......................... If it was a pilot quality issue the modular pilot would have been given a chance at a job interveiw, but it is not it is just the fact that the integrated guys are paying twice as much for the training.
Having done the numbers the trainning providors have taken te view that to protect the intigrated business they can offer to pay the airlines trainning bill if a pilot is "chopped" before a the simulator trip 5 (or so).
This has nothing to do with pilot quality from the trainning providors point of view it is simply a numbers game, they have £120,000 from a large number of young hopefulls and can afford to protect there business with the airlines by taking the hit on the odd simulator failure.
Hour building for integrated students in te USA is not about providing a rounded education for a pilot, it is simply a way of cutting the costs and increasing proffit.
Most integrated pilots are only just able to fly the aircraft by the time that they get into the RHS of an airliner, the skill level and all round pilotage skills of modular guys tend to be much better, but the training industry and the airlines don't see them as being such a good financial propostion.