I have an B.A. in Theater. I've been a software developer for a decade, no problem. My theater degree taught me context-dependent textual analysis (i.e. requirements gathering), social observation (i.e. UX testing) and modeling. It has done far more for my career than a CS degree would have.
The problem is that people have started seeing college as vocational training, because that is how it is portrayed. "If you spend this money, you will get a job." That shouldn't be why you go to college: you should go to college to learn how to think and learn. A career is what you do afterwards.
However, both employers and graduates need to believe that for it to work. If no one is willing to hire people without prior experience eventually employers can't hire anyone unless there is a vocational education program in place. And then we get to where we are today, where people rush to whatever vocational program is at hand until the field is flooded with applicants, just because it seems like almost-maybe-a-sure-thing.
The problem is that people have started seeing college as vocational training, because that is how it is portrayed. "If you spend this money, you will get a job." That shouldn't be why you go to college: you should go to college to learn how to think and learn. A career is what you do afterwards.
However, both employers and graduates need to believe that for it to work. If no one is willing to hire people without prior experience eventually employers can't hire anyone unless there is a vocational education program in place. And then we get to where we are today, where people rush to whatever vocational program is at hand until the field is flooded with applicants, just because it seems like almost-maybe-a-sure-thing.