Or we need to stop stigmatizing the trades and not going to college, but the politics of "those" people isn't in line with what is considered "proper" and so that's a much harder row to hoe.
Who the hell stigmatizes the trades? I swear in every comment section there is an echo chamber of folks saying this, but never anyone actually saying it. Maybe there are, but I've never seen it.
What I have seen in the last decade in comments sections is folks claiming (despite most of them not actually working in said trades) that the trades are a great living and an easy way to making significant income despite the data saying otherwise.
We also need more support for people who work trades. Often those are jobs you cannot work until you are 65 or that involve non trivial amounts of physical risk. It's not just the current stigma, it's the long term social impacts. I'll have a comfortable retirement and can work until I'm 70, a welder likely doesn't have a 401k and can work until they are 50.
What I have seen in the last decade in comments sections is folks claiming (despite most of them not actually working in said trades) that the trades are a great living and an easy way to making significant income despite the data saying otherwise.