Reply #10: It's about the pay rate, and a lot more

[Mopar151]

I'm a machinist, and this has been the story in my trade for decades. Raise the starting wage, improve working conditions, and offer some free training to your top applicant pool - even if you don't hire all of them.
And learn to treat people with respect and dignity. This is a particular problem in the skilled trades, because employees and applicants are often considerably more intelligent than the junior minions and HR staffers tssked with "managing" them.