I think your argument only holds water here, ChrisBL, if airlines were out there, tapping people on the shoulder and saying "go train as a pilot, pay for it, and we'll definitely give you a job".
It doesn't work like that. The FTOs are businesses who have reacted to perceived need and made money out of the climbing market. They have geared up to produce a lot of pilots to fill that need, and have attracted a lot of people to their courses who, had they been presented to the airlines first, would have been discouraged from spending their money (trust me, I've seen the CVs...)
The airlines then pick and choose from the people who present themselves for jobs.
If there has been any mis-selling, I would suggest the people responsible are the pushier FTOs, not the airlines.
In time, if the pilot supply dries up, and/or the quality drops, then the airlines will act, perhaps even re-introducing sponsorships etc. But right now, why should they bother? Sorry - commercial reality there....
TA