>>I'd be more concerned with the overall talent level of the junior people than what they 'know today'.
>>Look for people with a high mathematical aptitude along with the display of good communication skills during the interview process.
>>You could assemble a team like this much more quickly and in the long run maximuze productivity.
>>Its good to have a mix of people including some who are 'not married to VFP'.
>
>I guess your statement is true and coding languages are not that difficult to learn. But, in reality, I think employers rather have a proven programmer; someone with a track record for a specific skill. Almost impossible right now to get a position as a C++ coder if all you know is VFP/VB, no matter how good in math you are.

How does a 17 year old with no experience in any programming languages become a proficient C++ coder(and get a job)?

There are plenty of 24 year olds i know who currently work as c++ coders ( and they do a good job). They did not know any programming languages 10 years ago.

In general I think human resources people put too much importance on current knowledge level.

If you are not given lattitude in who you chose to hire then the hiring process becomes even more difficult.