With unemployment around 4.9%, we are essentially at full employment. So maybe it is true that there aren't enough people to do the work that have the needed skills. You can raise the wage as high as you want, but if the people aren't there, all you will do is get someone already working to switch jobs and leave a job opening somewhere else. The net number of available jobs doesn't go down. And then there will be strong upward pressure on wages which will also lead to inflation.
What about bringing workers from other areas of the country into that area? I am not clear if these are temporary jobs due to construction in the area- or if the company is located there and these will be continuous jobs- but my step-son and daughter- and a nephew all work construction- travel to other areas is common in construction. People would also be willing to relocate for permanent jobs if that is the case. It really does sound to me like they didn't advertise the jobs as they should have. When the company my daughter works for advertises job openings people flock in from all over to try to get the jobs. The only problem they have is in getting certain jobs filled that require certain skills. They get those jobs filled too, but they have to offer a better package to get that type of job filled.