There are a number of caveats to this. I appreciate that. But it is actually quite funny seeing this occur, across the "West", pretty much in most developed countries now, not just in the "Anglosphere"...
It's partially a consequence of 'Rona, and the government policies that various countries went for, in response to that. It's partially because of vaccine mandates. It's partly because, so we're told, a bunch of Boomers used 'Rona as the final push they needed, I guess, to retire, and get out. As a result of all that, though? Massive labour shortages, almost everywhere you look.
Media orgs and governments never admit this, but one of the only reasons that this situation can possibly exist is that young people are, increasingly, hugely overqualified, and are unwilling to take positions that they feel are somehow "beneath" them, or basically anything that they might consider "working class" or "unskilled"...
Previous to now, you also had employers not hiring people, because they were "overqualified" (amusingly, had that problem myself. Not anymore, lol), but now, most are seemingly so desperate that this excuse has gone out the window...
In essence though, in much of the world - the US, Australia, the UK, Canada, NZ, Germany, et al, society has spent the last 30-40 years telling young people that the only way to succeed is to: get a degree, probably get another degree, become a "professional" and fuck and/or backstab your way "to the top"...
No wonder young people have become so deluded as to think that manual labour, manufacturing, agriculture, whatever, is all beneath them. Especially when, in Australia at least, you still need to get qualifications, in order to do pretty much any of those jobs...
This was never sustainable. Nor were the ever-increasing levels of "student debt", across much of the West. Yet only now is it seemingly really coming home to roost, and still, it's pretty unlikely you will see anyone with power or influence admitting to any of this...
Personally, I can't wait until the day that this entire (economic, societal, political) house of cards comes crashing down.
Not sure how it is for other people, but the stigma here (where I am) against people without degrees, below the age of say, 40, is enormous…
Like, unless you’re a seriously successful tradie (who, ironically, generally earn more than most of their degree-qualified peers), someone will openly look down on you, and may even say shit to your face, in my experience…
Even if, say, you own your own business or something…
Essentially, I think a lot of “the professional class” can’t even comprehend the idea that someone wouldn’t have at least a Bachelor’s… It’s just… Not even in the realm of their perception, lol…
Which is quite sad, but I suppose this is what you get when you teach arguably two successive generations that a degree is the only path to success, and basically make it “the new high school diploma”…
All of which, deliberately I suspect, increases pressure to raise immigration levels, in order to fill those “low skilled” jobs…
There’s no way that isn’t intentional. Much like how “native born” white people have stopped having children. Again, conspiratorial though it may be to suggest so, I really, really don’t think that is purely coincidental…