‘Skills shortage’ is similar to complaining about STEM shortages. It’s mostly BS.
The complaint isn’t about n people not being available, it’s about n people not being available for x low price, or z terrible working conditions.
No matter how cheap or how widely available, some folks will still complain because for some folks, even if they had to pay $0, it still would be ‘too much’ if people also demanded human rights.
It’s similar to the ‘where have all the good men gone’, or ‘why don’t people want to work anymore?’, etc. complaints.