Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> Not enough trades persons, building supplies, capital to solve that problem

No, "not enough people" is corporate speak for "the public should train our workers for us"



One of the most frustrating things in my lifetime:

Company CEO paid-orders-of-magnitude-more-than-median-employee:

"Not enough local people with XYZ skills!"

Skilled local person: "I'm right here, just pay me properly."

Unskilled local person: "I'm right here, train me and I'll do it even at your low wage."

Local educational institution: "We could run training courses if you want to work with us on that!"

...

CEO: "Guess we'll have to get them from overseas!"


Yes, it is often the case.

BUT why not get a startup going and address the opportunity?

Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Uber, AirBnB, etc likewise saw problems as being opportunities in disguise.


I don't see an opportunity. I see it as a "community vs $" tradeoff, and companies are about $ every time.

A company could pay/train locals. But why, when you can go fishing for talent from overseas, pay them less, have them be dependent on your company to stay in country.

I am mainly frustrated with the "we have no locals with these skills" catchcry, when clearly it is "we have no locals with these skills we are willing to pay for".

And when that comes from companies with profits in the billions, it is just a "shareholder vs worker" balance of greed issue.


Don't forget, if you oppose the CEO you're Xenophobic, racist and far-right!


Yeah, it's frustrating how they [0] deploy the phrase "worker shortage" as a sneaky euphemism, when it's equally (or more) valid to present the problem as a wages shortage.

Similarly, the world has a terrible megayacht shortage! This is obvious, because I can't find any selling for the $20k in my budget. I demand to know what the government is going to do to fix this existential threat to the nation and our very way of life!

[0] https://locusmag.com/feature/cory-doctorow-capitalists-hate-...




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: