“If employers can’t get skilled people for their jobs, they’re not paying enough.”
That’s exactly the cause in the case of CNC operators.
For decades, companies tried to “dumb down” manufacturing positions so that anyone off the street could push the buttons. Now they are wanting CNC programmers for $10 and hour and wanting the government to pay for their training.
On the other edge of the scale, there are “union” button pushers making $40 and hour that really don’t have any skills other than button pushing.
In my area, Cummins pays welders $11+ to start. They can go up to $16+ w/various skill acquisitions. $14/hr is average. They make mufflers for the military and right now are on overtime.