I think you missed my point.
Nobody is denying that being good helps. It always does. In some cases, it's all you need. If you want to work as a creative mind within the industry, be it programming or artwork or anything in between, your standards should be professional at a minimum.
But it's never enough for every situation. For instance, some people get turned down from jobs simply for the software they are familiar with. You could be an expert in Blender and be capable of pumping out ninth generation models at an incredible rate, but that won't matter if the company uses 3DS Max and doesn't realise how easily meshes and data can be ported between the two programs (IMO it's best to know both, along with any other software you can get your hands on). The opposite can also happen of course, despite 3DS Max being viewed as better suited to professional AAA game development.
And since you brought up schools and colleges, that's another relevant issue. Your background in those can make or break your chances regardless of your skills. Some colleges will literally offer you direct connections towards getting a job due to their ties with a specific company, so a lesser skilled individual would have more of a chance as long as they worked at and acceptable level and rate, as opposed to someone coming from a less prestigious educational background who worked at a superior level and rate because they use their free time to hone their skills, as opposed to the first guy who only does the work at college. The former individual would have the goodwill of friends of the company, after all. Problem is, the more prestigious colleges cost way more to get into. Or, if you're coming straight from secondary school, you have to score really well in exams to get into the best colleges. But you will be doing so in areas that don't relate to your field and you just don't understand as well.
Even just your country of birth can be an inhibitor. I live in Ireland, and there are **** all game dev jobs here, and not many prestigious colleges for the field. I know this and I intend to pursue a career in this field anyway by my own methods, but you can't deny that there are way more opportunities for someone born in America or Japan or the UK as opposed to someone born in Ireland. It is flat out harder to break into the industry if you're living in Ireland. You have more hurdles, one of the most likely ones being money and the mental hurdle of leaving loved ones behind for a long time.
I'm not denying the importance of honing your skills and doing the research on the most relevant tech. Being good at your job will always be of help, and it's important. But talent and skills alone don't secure a job for everyone. You kind of pointed that out yourself by mentioning things like schools teaching dated techniques and software (something I can vouch for - I was taught UDK when UE4 had been out for a while).
It's really up to the individual to explore the avenues they have, and what can specifically land them a job they want. However, simply telling people to "git gud" isn't going to help them. Anyone trying to get into any creative industry probably realises that they should be doing that.
