I recently came across a 'news' item.
It mentioned how new MIT students given a simple task with simple items couldn't do it. But a kid who took a shop class solved it easily.

We definitely need higher education of all kinds.

Most are not cut out for college type learning but if you come from money or seek prestige you might find it easily there. Most people end up implementing the ideas that 'smart' people came up with. But many great inventions came from those solving problems that arise when they are implementing smart ideas.

Most people learn best by copy and repeat methods, some can think about the task in other ways after they master it, some have an innate knowledge, some lack any intelligent traits.

We all have moments of each.

where I live some of the old trades and skills are being revived by immigrants and new citizens returning the exported skillsets. Things like tailoring, reupholstering, watch repair, and leather work ... All hard to find in a disposable society.

When I worked factory jobs the hardest workers were always the minorities/immigrants (the first to get temp hired/fired always) Hopefully we won't have anymore grandstanding by candidates staging ICE raids on foreign companies investing in training Americans with offshore skillsets.