Ridiculous, but so are college degrees (Score 1)

My concern about the current state of many University programs and especially these ridiculous (for profit) IT certification programs can be summed up as follows.

We are graduating students with too much knowledge and not enough skill. We have produced a nation of memorizers and test takers.

I know this is out there, but we need is something like the Guild system, Apprentice, Journeyman, Master - the skills and knowledge required to "level up" can be obtained from a variety of sources, both school and OJT. Bouncing between school and work is a great way to go. Context and skill from work, knowledge and skill from school.

When I hire, what a candidate currently knows is if interest, but I'm more interested in a demonstrated ability to figure out stuff you have never seen. It will take more than three months to teach that and I'm not convinced it can be taught in a classroom.