Yes Derek, and that is the exception that proves the rule.
Personally, I strongly believe that we should base our high school education systems on the norms and not the exceptions. Those who need to know about the exceptions, can learn them on the job. Most of the skills I needed for the job, were not covered in school, and that is pretty standard across the globe.
I did learn the imperial system in school. I also learned about woodwork and metal work (separately), engineering drawing (using pencil, paper, pens), I also learned how to use a slide rule (pretty much redundant today, with some exceptions in the mechanical trades). I didn't learn about plastics, fibreglass, carbon fibre, or for that matter most alloys, 3D printing, designing with CAD, or computer science, etc. Where I have needed a new skill I learned elsewhere, as we all have.
Many of the jobs skills of yesteryear have almost disappeared from some western countries (farrier, sheet metal worker, ship builders, miner). My generation were taught skills for the manufacturing industry, which has pretty much disappeared in UK. Most mechanics today are fitters, who were not trained how to rewind a starter motor. Today the knowledge based, and service industries prevail. Kids need to be prepared for this brave new world. Even if they can't change a light bulb, the little blighters are brilliant at sorting out my IT gremlins.
One of the keys to modern education is for students to be able evaluate sources of information, and to be able to apply and synthesize it. Why the change? We might ask. With the internet, knowledge is only click away. If we think of information choice, rather than information overload, we can see why. Many of the skills I learned in school are much less relevant in today's world. Most car mechanics are now just fitters, they don't need to know how to re-wind a starter motor for example.
Yes there will always be exceptions, we still need engineers 'who can' (much fewer than before), and people can and still do train for those specialisations. But the chances of a high school leaver in the UK going into engineering today, are slim to none.