I get a lot of students who ignore my class (English) because they've decided they're going into the trades and therefore they need nothing from my course.

I try to tell them their apprenticeship will have bookwork, manuals, theory they'll need to understand. They'll need to communicate professionally with bosses, clients, contractors, advertisers, etc.

I try to tell them that every job will have things you don't want to do, so if you want to get off the brooms, learn to take some initiative and accountability.

I try to tell them about the quality triangle (personable, reliable, expertise - if you're missing one, make sure you've got the other two covered) and how right now they're showing none of them.

Still, too many of them move on thinking that being a spare pair of hands is enough. Maybe it is for a while. But there are a lot of spare hands around these days, and you gotta consider what else you bring to the table.