The reason they have that limiting factor is the fact that they are
looking for "highly trained" rather than "highly skilled", rather the
same issue throughout industry these days.

I agree with you. It even happened to my son. he spent two years in
production while telling his bosses he was capable of CNC programming
and setup person work. But he had no ticket to prove it. As soon as he
got the chance, he quickly moved up to #1 programmer and lead setup
guy.

Karl