Employees of the future - brainwashed or simply too lazy?

Are companies suffering because of ingrained and pre-programmed mindsets in candidates and prospective candidates? And more importantly, what is the route of this negativity?
Take for example the retail sector. A recent survey - the Targetjobs Employer of Choice Graduate survey -found that most of the graduates associated retail with negative experiences, and so were ruling out retail as a potential career path. This is biting hard with retailers as they are all struggling to bring in enough graduates for their talent management programmes.

It doesn't stop with just retail, because two other sectors that are really struggling to attract enough talent are construction and engineering.
Historically they have not been presented in the best light, and as previously male dominated industries, both construction and engineering have doubly suffered because they have preciously only attracted male candidates - not even beginning to attract females at all!
I know that changes are happening with regards to bringing more females into construction and engineering sectors (, but that isn't the main problem, it is simply that society has 'tarnished' these sectors as unglamorous and less exciting than other industries. But is that fair?

Personally I feel it is very harsh, and I know that the three sectors, retail, construction and engineering and their relevant governing bodies are working very hard to change peoples perceptions of the relevant industries. But is it the fault of society, our parents, or even our grandparents as to the reasons behind the negativity? There has definitely been  a stigma attached to being a tradesman for example, that is until recent years have shown that a) they can earn very good incomes and b) they can have a better quality of life. I am hoping that the colleges and schools continue to work hard at promoting these sectors and encouraging the employees of tommorrow to consider these three (and other less 'glamorous') industries, although that is bone of contention with me!

I started in my career in retail and had a fantastic time, before turning to recruitment (too many years ago!), and alot of what I learnt then, I still use today. It is just a shame that the employees of tommorrow are maybe 'listening' to the wrong people when it comes to these industries, instead of taking the plunge and trying them for themselves. The question is whether they have been brain washed or are they just too lazy to find out for themselves?