A couple of thoughts:
— Maybe I’m naive, but I think that, eventually, all this diversity stuff will (eventually) self correct. Just look at what is happening in Silicon Valley now. Lots of layoffs, but they are keeping the people who actually work. I bet if you look, they are getting rid of the fluff diversity hires who contribute nothing to the bottom line.
— One problem with hiring HS grads is that a HS diploma isn’t work much anymore. You have to test these people and see who has the ability and work ethic. It is probably a small fraction of what it was even 10 years ago.
— Even with a college degree, a lot of people are just useless. And sometimes even worse than useless. Many people of prime working age are not even joining the workforce. It’s a big problem, especially in the trades. I think the recent stat is: for every five people who retire, two come in. That simply is not sustainable if we want to keep our current standar of living.
Useless organizations give out bogus "diversity" awards to companies and if they don't have one of these they will put the company on a list. Companies don't want that.
Think about the pending social credit score that's on the way. Also, ESGs are embedded in company profiles.
Also consider...kids are being indoctrinated on multiple fronts with wokeness.
Wokeness is here to stay I'm afraid.
“Even with a college degree, a lot of people are just useless.”
I worked in an HR department with 15 employees. Two of us did not have college degrees. We were the ones the Director called in to fix the messes the others made.