“They’re making the flawed assumption that any graduate with the requisite degree is capable of doing the work.”
They’re also making the flawed assumption that any graduate with the requisite degree is _willing_ to do the work.
Too many think showing up is enough.
Too many think 9-5 is enough.
And too many think it’s a teacher-student relationship, instead of we’re-all-in-this-together.
As someone who backed into the engineering field after 2 decades in manufacturing I can't tell you how astonished this made me. We have 23 year-olds with an excellent salary who have zero work ethic. Then there are others who seem bright enough and seem to try but they can't ever seem to get anything done. In my experience I'd say it take 3-4 hires (hires not applicants) to get a capable engineer.