I've been looking to hire an ace web "designer" for a long time.  My recent effort got me a few hundred resumes, which translated into tens of interviews.

I'm shocked, disappointed, and disgusted to say that not even one "designer" knew HTML or CSS past what was current in 1996.  I'm amazed that they actually think today's web can be "designed" on photoshop.

Not a single applicant had ever heard of "webkit" or "jquery".  They have no idea how most "graphical" elements that used to require "photoshop" can now be implemented in CSS ( or its extensions ).

With the lack of effort the Pakistani work force, in general, has made itself redundant and irrelevant.  We can sit home and scream about "lack of opportunities" till we commit suicide, but the opportunity won't come unless we learn new tricks and stay ahead of the curve.

Alas!!!

For those who are sharpening their knives for me, read http://24ways.org/2009/make-your-mockup-in-markup first.