I fully agree. I encouraged my younger brother (21) to not waste his time with university, based on his interests.

He started working at around age 17, as I had a few mates back home who could help him find the kind of work he enjoys.

My younger sister (18) wants to become a doctor and is studying hard to go study medicine for free.

I graduated from uni, with a first class degree, but it was really pointless. Most of the benefits I got was due to the fact that I moved to another country to study and had more opportunities because of that, not because of uni.

Like you said. Unless you want to study a handful of things, there's really no need for university. Doing a course, an apprenticeship or going to trade school is much better.