I know quite a few extremely skilled people who aren't employed in a technical field. Usually it's some combination of not working well with others, lack of formal credentials and the means to acquire them, or a criminal record. Government work also means you have to be morally okay with what the government does (or willfully ignorant), able to pass a background check, and be willing to go through the security clearance process.
"People with skills" just don't care for corporate or government bullshit. You may know them as "not being employed in a technical field", but it's just because you got filtered out.