• Government grants/scholarships for skilled trades predicted by federal employment office to have a shortfall in either workers or colleges in the near future.
• Federal standardization of all education (if this isn’t the case already) to simplify importing workers out of state
• Increased unemployment benefits for trades to ease off-season/low demand periods and make the career more attractive
• grade-school/high-school and general media propaganda to improve public opinion of ‘grunt workers’

or do absolutely nothing and let the free market figure it out like we’re told it will

This needs to be pinned as part of the mod rules. Criticism is not personal attack but the idea that it is infests Lemmy to its detriment

not even asking them to do anything for me because last time I did, one of them said she would take a batch of documents to a nearby department but then outright ignored it and I had to do it myself.

From what little we have to go on this seems to be the culprit. While workplaces may seem like a microcosm of polite society there are ‘rules’. One of which is ‘do your own work’. If someone offers to do something because it just happens to be convenient for them that is one thing. Appearing friendly in an attempt to manipulate others to take on your responsibilities may not be your intention but it is what 90% of people are wary of at work. Be friendly, but do not ask for help until you are good friends and play the tit-for-tat game shrewdly.