Companies stick to a narrative of a tech shortage, lobby government and universities to help import/train more talent, supply of talent increases, wages drop.

I disagree that this is what is happening, given my own experience. But I'm not sure what the solution to the problem is. The smartest people I've worked with are motivated to learn more every day. You can offer the best training, but if someone doesn't care about inproving their skills or expanding their knowledge, you can't do much. Also, working effectively in a team environment also requires some soft skills that some people just don't have nor do they care to develop them. Again, can't force people to care.