Yes, this is what he's really missing. I think he has a lot of good points (but not all--sorry, but while you can get the basics of a new language quickly the main time cost is learning the library) but he utterly overlooks all the trash.
The companies doing the hiring see a lot of trash applying and take all sorts of steps to filter it out. The trash keeps applying everywhere, the companies try even harder to filter it. The companies see the filters as saving them time on interviewing trash, they don't see the good ones being filtered out.
I'd like to see some sort of meaningful certification of developer skills, but it would be awfully hard to do without being subject to being gamed.
The companies doing the hiring see a lot of trash applying and take all sorts of steps to filter it out. The trash keeps applying everywhere, the companies try even harder to filter it. The companies see the filters as saving them time on interviewing trash, they don't see the good ones being filtered out.
I'd like to see some sort of meaningful certification of developer skills, but it would be awfully hard to do without being subject to being gamed.