I am in Manitoba currently.(Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia) and I saw the decline in all of them.
The 70 and 80s they were investing in better trades training.. and in computer science. (I was in the first class year and learned on a mini computer with punch cards and on the ”new” Commodore 1080)
There was a short decline for a while in the 90s here.
I suspect due to the cost of trades training.
They got smart and instead of trying to have it in almost every highschool, they do it in handful of schools that focus on that goal and are better equipped at a lower cost. I assume they also attract better teachers.
”Jack of all trades, master of none” comes to mind.
Tec Voc High School has been around since I was a kid, but we a have a bunch now.
Some schools have classes for the general public during the summer. It helps fund the school. I took a welding course that way. $300 for training and access to a complete shop that had a computerized plasma cutter.
Edit: I do notice a general decrease in in what I would call typical DIY skills. Not typical for people under a certain age, anymore. Most of my nephews and nieces have no interest in doing diy or working a trade.
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