I had a shop class in middle school (mid-to-late 80s) and I learned a ton of useful skills even though i went on to software engineering. Got experience welding, etching, knew what a "tap and die" was, did drafting (and got exposed to AutoCAD). I also had "home ec" which taught how to cook, clean, and sew. A few others that I would have liked to see: basic plumbing repairs,working with hand tools (plane, chisel, etc), building structures from framing lumber.

It really seems like having a good non-academic curriculum for life skills is broadly useful beyond folks who are going into the trades.