Pay for your job/training
In 1991 when I left university I applied to BA and the RAF as a pilot. I did the selections and was told that I had reached the required standard but no pilot positions were available due to cutbacks in recruitment in BA and personnel reductions in the RAF (I turned down the subsequent offer of Engineering Officer). Had I been taken on, there would have been a net payment to me from day 1 of my employment.
I became an civilian engineer and flew for a hobby in gliders and light aircraft. Eventually I saved enough money to pay for a CPL/IR and got that. Then the JAR regulations were brought in and I needed an MCC so I did that. Nobody would offer me a flying job due to lack of experience so I did an instructor rating. The total outlay for me was approximately £50k. I won't include loss of earnings because that will distort the issue.
After two years of training and four years of various employment as an instructor, aerial survey, and air taxi pilot I reached the break-even point in my flying career (not including subsistence expenses).
For illustration, compare that to the approximate costs of the current Easyjet ab initio pilot.
£80k for an integrated course.
£34k for the cadet scheme.
I suppose the break even point will come sooner for these cadets than me, but probably at greater risk because there is no guarantee of selection to be a cadet or indeed employment at the end.
There was a step change around 1990 when the airlines realised that they could save themselves the cost of training because of hobby pilots like me, and cadet pilots of schemes like Easyjet's.
That doesn't make it right, but we live in a capitalist society which deems this fair. Those who are lucky enough to be able to find the funding up front get the job (provided they can meet the minimum standard which on the evidence of the accident statistics appears to be high enough).
The current situation (and for the last 20 years) is that there are enough people with enough money and desire and minimum ability to pay for their own training to be a pilot. This is the political and commercial reality we live in. Unless the supply of pilots willing to pay for their training dries up this situation will continue. I expect that airlines will try to find some way of increasing the contribution of the prospective employee until that threshold is finally reached. We are not at that point yet.
You may feel this is not right or fair, but consider the alternatives. A meritocracy would provide the alternative route where everyone gets a chance based on ability. A socialist society would give everyone with the desire the chance to be a pilot based on reaching a minimum ability (followed by random selection). Neither of these political systems are in place in any democratic society today. Winston Churchill said: “Democracy is the worst type of government, except all those others that have been tried.” I suppose we are stuck with it for now.