Might be hard to get those jobs filled. When I was in school we had auto shop, wood shop, and Agriculture class. We learned the basics of car maintenance, carpentry, gardening & canning, even some basic home repair and maintenance. All of this along with regular studies.
Those courses have been replaced by cosmetology, Sexual education, and social media courses.
This summer I had an intern(college Junior) in my department that I worked with daily that couldn’t address an envelope, write a check, change his own oil, or identify basic hand tools.
I talked to him last week I promised I would be there next spring when he receives his BS in mechanical engineering.
These skills have nothing to do with ME. What's your point? An engineering firm is looking for bright people to work on design projects, not someone who is qualified to work at jiffy lube. No I do find it odd the an ME has no interest in tools etc. But that doesn't mean that can't design an HVAC system.
I didn’t get your post. The guy can’t do anything, but you are willing to help?