Perhaps not needed in terms of actual knowledge and skills, but needed because employers want to see the credential as a way of reducing the number of applicants for each job in a convenient way.
It will not be long before high SES parents do their best to ensure that their kids have the greatest opportunity and fewest barriers to trying to become those most qualified students that will be allowed to attend college, or be first in line for apprenticeships and other post-high-school education needed for the important trades if they choose them or are unable to get into college, while low SES parents may encounter fewer opportunities and more barriers for their kids (just like now).