Lower "e" engineer. In Canada, like many places, the title is protected. But in reality, it's not often necessary for software. A significant number of the roboticists where I work do not have an engineering degree.
My point is that it's possible to effectively be one without. It's not like people without the degree can't do all the things an engineer does. It just becomes troublesome when there's safety certifications and such required.
There's definitely value, meaning, and importance in the engineering degree and certifications.
The saying that one doesn't need a degree to get a tech job is nonsense. Do the test: Ask one guy working in one of the major tech company how many of his direct neighbors have a degree, most likely it's all of them.
The statements don't contradict. Read the source, the other 24% are marked as "unknown" status, not as not having a degree.
Furthermore, that's the statistics for the whole company. It's higher for tech jobs. It's higher for younger folks. It's higher in countries where degrees are affordable.