I highly recommend Matthew Crawford's Shop Class as Soulcraft, which includes a discussion of how kids are railroaded into college even though it makes no sense for everyone to go. The destruction of vocational schools is a real problem here. And in a world where any work that doesn't require physical presence is ripe for offshoring, the loss of the vocations is problematic indeed.
Reminds me of this old SMBC Comic.[1]
"The easier college gets, the dumber you look for not having a degree."
Having hoops for discriminating simplifies hiring and other decisions. Simple ones like these are going to stick around as long as people think degrees matter more than how a person produces.
For most people it's still the best bet to go to college if you want a career. Even in Germany with its strong vocational programs there is a long term trend of jobs going more and more to college graduates. My sister is "Bankkaufmann" and did OK when she started 25 years ago. Now the same job is only for people with a bachelors minimum.
You can read the essay that started the book here: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/shop-class-as-sou...