Unfortunately, wishing that the industry would pay for all training with little or no contribution from the wannabe is a waste of time. Pigs flying in a pink sky are more likely! Until such time as the industry recovers to the mad expansion of 1998-2000 (and I think we're unlikely to see anything like that for many years), it will remain a buyers' market. If you don't match up to the best out there, you won't get employed.
I personally don't approve of self-funded type ratings, but the arguments for doing them are ever-more persuasive in today's climate. Astraeus/Bond's offering is considerably better than the majority, and the line training element is vital if you're going to go down this route. However, I wouldn't expect a potential employer to accept a graduate of this scheme with no further training. There will have to be an period of company orientation and route familiarisation; in Virgin that's normally 10-14 long-haul sectors, no matter what your previous experience. Incidentally, we still pay for all our pilots' type ratings - but you need 3000-odd hours of commercial or military experience to get in!
Scroggs