An interesting, and scary, observation. I'm not too surprised, however. Perhaps it's just a byproduct of our computer-age, but it does seem fewer young adults want to do anything involving manual labor; woodworking, plumbing, bike repair, you name it. I've personally always gotten great joy from fixing things or proving to myself I could do something "real".
A job done in the real-world grades you with the dispassionate physics of "it works" -or- "it doesn't work". No amount of political connections, shmoozing, or whining will make a light switch work. It's all very objective, and I think that builds character and independence.
For the first time in 26 years of home ownership I had a contractor do a project. He gutted and remodeled a bathroom. It was nice to come home and see stuff done but I also wanted to get in and sweat some pipe.