I think a lot of us question the practice paying for training, however there is a clear difference between paying for some form of training and also paying for some form of training and also being competent.
I think what Joe was on about is the spreading practice of airlines asking new hires to fund their training costs. I think all pilots that are currently employed by airlines are not comfortable with that idea. He would not be alone in that view.
However I have faith that system that does the line training and then checks a new pilot to line. I do not think a new pilot would be checked to line unless they were safe. It should not matter if a person paid for their training after coming from a GA, or was employed having flown the type with another operator, they would both need to meet the same standard.
I know there has been a case discussed on pprune before of a pilot who paid for training with Jetstar, however was later deemed as to not meeting the required standard and had their employment terminated.
I am also aware of a number of international students that originate from a mid asia region that do not understand that they need to meet a standard to get a CPL. Paying the money, and getting the hours does not give an automatic pass.
So I guess my point is, it should not matter where you get trained, or who pays for the training, a pilot should always need to meet the required standard. Paying for training should not guarantee a job, rating, or licence.