Doing software
You are right, software requires intelligence, but it also requires something else,and that is aptitude. Not every smart person is a software developer. With that said, there is 80 (at least) different fields that IT people do, not including business. Even if somebody is not a developer, and they have a degree in IS or computer science, there are other things that they can do. Companies are doing a disservice to these people by not letting them do other things rather than nothing by sitting at home. Companies are also not training people, so how is it possible that they can get what they want in the long run?