I completely agree with you regards the ab-initio route. Whilst there may be some decent guys coming from these establishments they generally lack hands on experience.
If you do an apprenticeship with a major airline, working on civil aircraft and do your licences either during or after, surely they would be more employable than a leaver from the services who hadnt finished their licences and hadnt worked in civil. An apprentice that has worked on airliners would be at a great advantage to somebody who had only worked fast jets for instance.
Im not saying the services are bad, just that apprenticeships offer the years of experience the CAA require and acknowledge. A good apprenticeship will enable you to work in every area and even post apprenticeship you still learn every day.