Corporations can (and should) provide training for tradespeople, but you can't do the same for specialized degrees, like engineering. To train engineers it takes 4-5 years of academic + project work, which is what colleges and universities provide. There's nothing wrong with degrees, what we have in the US is a broken aid system with perverse incentives around the financing of such degrees. Don't conflate one thing with the other.
I don't disagree that there is a legit need for engineering degree holding workers, but, how many folks in the US are getting engineering degrees just to check a box to get a job that requires a degree? This is a distinct issue versus dysfunctional funding of necessary degree paths.
I may just be misunderstanding what you're saying but if you're just getting a degree to tick a box that says "Must have a degree" why would you pick engineering?
What are the jobs that "require" an engineering degree but don't actually require any engineering knowledge?