I'll bite, at the risk of upsetting the masses.
Yes, scenario based training is a better way to go. Build the specific handling skills up through exercises but then apply them in real world scenarios. Measure performance, tempered with experience, not hours in the logbook. And finally, the captain's ride doesn't happen in the sim. That ride is just a confirmation of what has already been seen on the line. Listen to the people who are out there!
The trend I see, that is pushing me more and more toward leaving the industry (at least as an offshore pilot) is the acceptance of weak and barely competent individuals remaining in the system. HR has put money into recruiting them so they are babied through the intial training or given additional training ad nauseum. The job itself has become so regimented that very little skill is actually needed unless something goes wrong and chances are they will be with someone competent when that happens. No one higher in the food chain than the coal face seems to have the balls to recognize this, accept it, and pull the pin on them.
(Not everyone has the right skill set to do the job safely, and just because I can do it today doesn't mean I will be able to do it forever.)
Eventually the system loses track of the weak, just barely making it, guys or there isn't enough extra resources to protect them and an incident happens. "Just roster him with the experienced co-pilots." "He'll be ok, he'll pick it up on the line." Have you heard that before?
I've been on many bases, with different operators, and one of us has pointed to a pilot and said "that man is going to cause an accident". We don't come to that conclusion lightly, and if we are willing to stand up and tell someone, risk our own reputation, don't you think it is for a reason?
We are told that anyone can be a captain with the right training, or they just need help, or we have a personal axe to grind.
Remember, it isn't just training, it is also CHECKING.