There is actually a lot of truth in the statement of the GIS manager of San Antonio although this viewpoint reflects the perspective of hiring GIS technicians. What is left out is that someone with thorough knowledge and skills in the core compentencies (math, science, etc.) can quickly enough learn and effectively utilize new technologies as they come along. Alas, how often are GIS staff hired because they possess a good knowledge of GIS science versus how well they know how to use a vendor's product XYZ. If you look at most (but certainly not all) GIS programs, a very substantial amount of the training time is spent simply learning how to use a particular single vendor's software. My own impression is that too many students think GIS = vendor and they consider of GIS applications only in terms of the vendor's software commands. Students (and GIS programs) also know that hiring is based primarily on specific vendor training, and only secondarily on core GIS knowledge.