Easy answer: why work when government pays you not to work? Even if you want to work the government strongly discourages it. Get a job and you lose Medicaid, food stamps, housing allowance, cell phone allowance, etc. Even the unemployed aren’t stupid and know that unless the job opening is really a high paying job they cannot afford it. Making do with whatever work you can get is contrary to the way government programs work. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but it was something like a person with $7,000/yr income has as much “take home” pay as a person with $22,000/yr in income when you factor in the loss of means-tested benefits. Let’s see, work for $24,000/yr or not work and make $22,000/yr? And they wonder why there is a gap between openings and hires?
Because Companies don't TRAIN THEIR EMPLOYEES ANYMORE.
They outsource.
That's why.
I've been with the same employer almost 10 years now. I've not received a single training class for ANY of the technologies I have to deal with. I either learn them on my own time and my own dime, or I don't learn them.
Want to close the skills gap? TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES!!