Then obviously there is not a shortage of workers.
There is a shortage of workers in that the people who can work, aren't, in the positions they're applying for.
I don’t know if you are old enough to have been working when key punch operators were in demand for early computers. That was a short lived career move that was being hyped at the time.
No, but I think I heard about it.
Anything trades is good for those that can use their hands.
Not everyone wants to do a trade, regardless of the push from people to go into them.
Business admin will help get in with government agencies and larger companies.
Which is where a lot of "Experience needed" jobs I've read about are happening.
the other thing is being prepared to relocate to find a career.
Depending on a person, relocation is good, or bad. If you've a young family, relocation is harder. Single? It's doable depending on circumstance. I'm single but relocating for me isn't going to happen (mortgage here, plus the costs to move elsewhere are too insane to make it feasible).
I know about the experience thing. Many companies think they are saving money by requiring experience, but that is not always the case.
That's true; when I got my job at the hospital, Experience wasn't needed at the time. Now I'm grandfathered in, thankfully, and am expanding my scope of knowledge for other departments. But then I've 20+ years to draw on.
something I have noticed, and I don’t know if it is the same in your area, but recent college grads have the erroneous impression that they should start at the top or at least middle management instead of entry level jobs because they have a degree.
Oh I agree that some idiots coming straight out deserve that; I've even read that while IN college they think they'll earn at least 75K to start and be fine once they graduate.
It's all about perspective and this belief from society that an education = amazing financial stability/lots of money. And an education means those top or middle management jobs. They get shocked that bottom is where they start out.
IMO, society and certain people created that belief in these 'monsters' and now they're paying for thinking it was a reality.