If I remember correctly, Reich, when Secretary of Labor, was talking about a massive Federal training program. The program would spin up workers to do a specific job or set of tasks, then re-train them as FedGov saw shifting needs for talent.
In a system like that, college would not work as college is usually self-directed education. The individual picks the major without regard to the needs of the state, if you can imagine! So a student might pick a major like civil engineering when what the nation needs is more environmental scientists.
One problem, among many, with Reich’s plan for a Federal training program is that the government is completely inept at figuring out what fields or knowledge will be most in demand in the next 5, 10, or 30 years. Take a look at the Labor Department’s occupational outlook projections from 30 or 40 years ago. They are a riot.