Tiger,
It is both. I have worked with shapers who have been employed by major contractors for years who cannot shape that well, and newbies who take to it instantly.
No doubt a GREAT shaper can put subtlies in mounds and earth forms that no one can draw and I guess if we credit them for that, we ought to credit the bad mounds to them, when its their fault, too.
We usually have the option to remove an unsuitable shaper in our contract, but in reality, if a guy is cooperative but not creative, its a hard thing to do, both for the relationship with the contractor and the project schedule. I have only had a few shapers removed from jobs, but I have quietly asked that many be relagated to rough shaping or tee building.
And, again, many times, shapers are hamstrung by a contractor who tries to short the dirt and doesn't give them enough earth to work with for generous tie ins, that are usually the key to the deal. The best shapers make do. Take a careful look at mounding next time you are on a course to see how many times they look great from the fw, but have incredibly steep backslopes, because a good shaper put the dirt where the golfer would see it.