I have my limited experience in the yards, one 2 year project on the lower Clyde in the late 90's in which I was responsible for £200m of subcontracts (this isn't meant as showing off, only to demonstrate that it was a major project and that I was pretty senior in the organisation). According to the client on that job, the quality of the finished product was second to none. Given that the client was a major oil company and its personnel had worldwide experience, I'm happy to accept their word for it wrt the technical skills involved.
The problem for that client was that productivity was second to everyone, even allowing for the rework required to deal with the lesser standard of workmanship experienced elsewhere.
It's one of my biggest regrets that the workforce couldn't see beyond the next paypoke on that particular job, getting it done more efficiently would have ensured many more paypokes after that one was finished.
So, in short, from real experience, the problem isn't the skill set, the skills are still there, The problem is with the attitude to getting the job done. And I, for one, have no idea how to fix that.