I disagree with some of what lifeafteraviation says. Modern aircraft are not easier to operate than the last generation - automation and FBW modes are getting ever more complex and confusing, especially when they malfunction, and modern airframes are not designed to be hand flown so much, so their handling qualities are worse. Compound that with decreasing training, experience levels and currency in manual/raw data/visual flying because of company SOPs, plus harder and harder rostering and you have increasingly difficult operation, I'd say.
As for it being only managers that say experience levels are irrelevant, many experienced captains on here have repeatedly said that they ave seen many highly capable cadets and suspect experienced FOs. Experience is just one factor in a bundle of requirements to make competent pilots, and many of us over estimate the effect of experience alone.