Too many people tried to make a living as a mech designer. Due to a low barrier of entry combined with substantial capital requirements, most people who graduated with a degree in mech design managed to to get one foot through the door.
That did not mean they immediately became full-fledged mech designers. Getting the other foot through as well took an extraordinary amount of effort. Without talent, wealth or connections, most mech designers turned into overqualified mech technicians or marginal businesspeople who only sold two mechs a year or so.
Obviously, these low-ranking mech designers really didn't do anything useful, so by and large they wouldn't be missed if they were pulled out of their current jobs.
Like any state, the Bright Republic faced an abundance of mech designers and a shortage of technical personnel. Using an abundance of one resource to make up for the scarcity in the other made a lot of sense.
