There are plenty of kids at the community college I am now attending who literally can not find 1.5 inches on a ruler. That's the truth. I have personally witnessed this. Many **will** go on to earn AA and then B.A. degrees. There are plenty of baristas with college degrees who can not read a ruler or an analog clock and don't know who the Vice President is.
Some of the best math I've eveer seen was done on scrap paper in a machine shop, by a guy who barely spoke English or acceptable Spanish, merely so he could actually do what the red lines called for. Contemporary with that I worked with Engineers who's answer to "why" was because that's what the program says.
Nearly the most depressing sight I encountered in GI Bill education was watching as the demo slip stick behind instructor's desk was replaced with a demo hand calculator. (see above; because that's what the program says)
The problem isn't limited to 'kids'. I watched over a decade of adult employees bagging a Phoenix or Fly by Night BA degree while employed so that they could demand a raise and promotion upon completion...
Spoiler; I have a legitimate BA in a very unmarketable specialty and an after hours MSA in "management", which taken together allowed me to continue working but which I never thought should guarantee me any sort of status, that you need to learn to do for yourself.
When I brought up a plumbers worth this is exactly what I meant. They have an education that’s worth something, and relevant to what they’re setting out to do.
As a result they actually provide something of value to the marketplace and society, more so than any vaunted “fill-in-the-blank” studies degree from even the “ivyest” of leagues. ;-)