I think you’re assuming that there’s some minimum bar for “literacy, ability to work in an office environment, etc.” and that everyone above that bar is of fair

I think you’re assuming that there’s some minimum bar for “literacy, ability to work in an office environment, etc.” and that everyone above that bar is of fairly equal value to employers. I think you’re also assuming that nearly everyone can be brought up to this bar (note: if employers believed this, they could hire people without college degrees for cheap and train them on the job). As soon as you look at these traits as existing on a non-binary spectrum though, and employers wanting to hire people at an appropriate place along the spectrum (the most desirable workers obviously being more expensive to hire), I think it becomes obvious that any sort of filter that lets through everyone or nearly everyone is not going to end up being very valuable.