Work Vs Education

I saw a dialogue between reporter and a CEO of a major hotel organisation! The crux of the discussion was job creation. What struck me was the comment by the CEO stating that they openly hire individuals who may or may not have high school education! He also went on to state that they promote hard working staff internally to senior positions. When asked by the reporter, he stated that though they don't have a corporate education program!
This tells me that they are willing to exploit the undereducted for their profits, and keep their bottom lines low. Show the under educated that they are able to get a job without a solid education to go with & you have a high rate of high school drop outs, who see easy money without the need for education!
All this when the education drop outs, rates of job less individuals is @ an all time high! And the jobs that are available, are either low pay jobs or jobs that require special skills/education or expertise to go with it... whch are either un-interesting or un-attainable to these individuals in question!
And this may not be a surprise to you... the US is one of the few "developed" countries which promotes kids to work, in the name of teaching "self reliance"! And no points for guessing who has the highest school drop out rates in the world! And to top it off, the basic education - upto 12th grade, is free and mandated by law!!
What is needed here is a major culture change in the mindset of people that education is a necessary part of life. Children working after school or before school, is unacceptable. Higher education MUST be made more attaianable, less expensive and easily accessible to the general public! The companies should stop hiring folks who do not have a certain basic education! Yes, it will increase your cost, but it will also increase your talent pool and you will have a population that slowly (but surely) becomes highly intellectual!!