Actually, I'm going to disagree with another thing you said. My apprentices that put in the time and effort to learn and excel impress me far more than those with natural ability. Often I observe that the former, during the course of an apprenticeship, with eventually catch up and often surpass the gifted applicants. They put in effort off the clock and it pays back dividends. So, I'm not convinced that you've got this all figured out.

Nope, I have actually settled into a comfortable position that has many spots to fill and doesn't require me to advance in order to stay relevant or valuable. I'm a journeyperson, and have no ambition to proceed into management as I would not gain adequate value from addition pay, at least not enough to warrant the loss of free time that I would incur. I have however noticed that were I to wish to advance, time spent and effort shown would infact 100% be the way in which I could secure a higher position.

Way to make assumptions though.

This is a terrible take. While it CAN be seen as you have suggested, it is completely false that these things go unnoticed or unrewarded, especially when there is competition in the workplace. It's irresponsible to say this.