And employers cannot simply hire people right out of high school without providing specialized training programs to bring them up to speed.

It is 100% money. You are so close to seeing the point with this sentence. If the factory owners paid for specialized training programs for new hires, then they would have specialized employees who can do the job. They are neither willing to invest money in new people, stubbornly insisting that people already come fully trained, but also not willing to appropriately compensate those who are both trained and willing to put their bodies at risk on a factory floor.