"and people with strong careers but zero commercial or practical experience with Python"
You probably missed out on some decent candidates with that as knowing how to program is often not limited to a specific language. Programming is more a way of thinking and approaching problems than knowing a specific syntax.
When filling a role for a C#/ASP.NET web developer the person we chose to hire had ZERO C#/ASP.NET experience, but had many years of Java experience making the same type of applications we needed. He got up to speed extremely quickly and was a great contributor to the team.
You probably missed out on some decent candidates with that as knowing how to program is often not limited to a specific language. Programming is more a way of thinking and approaching problems than knowing a specific syntax.
When filling a role for a C#/ASP.NET web developer the person we chose to hire had ZERO C#/ASP.NET experience, but had many years of Java experience making the same type of applications we needed. He got up to speed extremely quickly and was a great contributor to the team.