Universities have become rather elite-oriented too. Both in terms of how exceptionally high the grades of applicants need to be. Makes it more academic oriented (ie high school Uber nerds, many of which actually have some social and/or communication challenges). I see this repeatedly in many new grads in STEM. Secondly… the cost has resulted in many being unable to sustain 4+ years of payments and marginal income. These two items have also resulted in a lower number of older students going (back) into post secondary.
As a parent it’s logical for me to encourage youth to pursue “useful” education. For years I pushed the trades-oriented / SAIT approach and took flack for it. By useful I mean many things such as: interesting and engaging to the student; an actual current day market for those skills; a future for the skills that evolve into a career; having the chance at a reasonable work life balance; and of course a reasonable wage soon after graduating/completion that has lots of head room.
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