He would be better off career wise. They value hands on experience. One of the reasons a major company hired my BIL after he went into engineering was he had years of practical experience as an auto mechanic
The high schools push college because they get a kickback and it makes them look better to have more students go on to four year colleges. They don’t give a flying *expletive deleted*ck about what’s good for the student. Couple that with the the way society looks down upon the trades and little wonder the extreme need for replacements for the retiring ones.
I am in awe of what's out there that I never knew about when in HS. My best friend worked in the chemistry field for 15 years, learned business concepts/lean manufacturing on the job, then taught himself machining, and more importantly CAD/CAM/CNC by watching youtube videos, and bought himself a VMC and a lathe so he could make niche market race car parts out of his garage. He now manages a large machine shop.
The day After Christmas, I had a sewage/septic problem. Called a plumber, who referred me to a pumping service, which quickly came to my house. I spent a couple of hours helping the guy running hoses, electrical cords, holding flashlights and asking him questions. He ended up pumping the septic, testing the system, roto-rootering out the soil pipe, fixed the problem. $475 for 2.5 hrs work- and I felt the money was well worth it.