More importantly, for those who've been out of school for a while their math skills erode quickly. I'm having to reteach people basic linear algebra because they hadn't used it since their junior year of college 20 years ago and are now writing/maintaining programs that require it. Some of them were able to recall it with a bit of prompting, but for others it was a complete blank. For the former, the mechanics were still in their head but the terms were gone and needed to be reconnected, for the latter they aren't recalling either parts. But both groups are picking it back up quickly, they don't need a full semester of retraining, just a few sessions and then a lot of practice/application.
I understand now and agree with that point of view, thank you for clarification.
Now that you point it out, I have seen the same problem occur with electricians. They are very good workers, get along with everyone, are great team leaders and team members but struggle with simple single variable formulas like ohms law thus preventing them from being promoted to journeyman.