Learning a practical skill alongside one's education will indeed make a difference in our world today. I have a lot of regret not doing that while I was still in the uni with much time all by myself compared to now that my attention is divided every day.
Acquiring skills is the new gold now. No time for cramming and pouring in the university, wasting time and money and ending up as a POS vendor. Nowadays ; what puts food on the table is a practical skill. What can you give out, regardless of your grade on your certificate? That's what matters nowadays; a lot of remote jobs wouldn't even request your certificate. All they want is proof of what you can do, with evidence, and once you are useful with your skills, you get the job, simple.
Education is great, but it's a greater combo to combine skills and education these days. Our world keeps evolving, and we must go along with it without staying outdated. A lot of times, our certificates don't give us jobs; it's not just enough, so beyond the classroom, one can learn tailoring, screeding, painting, and the rest; there's no need to wait to graduate first.
My cousin, a law student, created time to learn screeding while still schooling, and each holiday, he went for job hunting, hustling, and gathering money to support his schooling, as he knew where he was coming from. Today the guy is a graduate, and while waiting for law school, he is working back-to-back from one site to another, financially okay for himself, so even without a job tomorrow in his field, he won't go hungry because there is always development everywhere and screeding is done in new buildings, and that's more jobs for him and others.
The same thing is applicable to other people and other skills. I think it's about finding balance between learning skills and studying, and trust me, it's doable without affecting your focus on education; just be determined, and you are good to go.
No need to wait until graduation; they will be preparing for joblessness. I wish I had known better before now; I would have taken a better route. Some schools are already making skill acquisition a compulsory subject after seeing the need for it. left for me, these skills should be made available in schools and made compulsory too.
At the end of the day, it's for our own good; it's about planning ahead for the future without relying on job offers that might take forever to come by.