Well, that is quite a problem actually. In the past decades, the separation between an academic education and a non-academic education started really early, probably too early. That is why we have to do quite a bit these days to make sure that both tracks are more permeable, so that you can start vocational training and then continue on with academic university courses. The split happens very early, and it is done based on the interest of the young people.
There is a certain inherent risk, the risk that the students with higher, more developed talents choose the academic track, and the less well developed ones choose vocational training. It's the job of politicians to do something about this and to make sure that both educational tracks are equal. But the split really happens at the age of 15 or 16.
Maybe I should add that we have a situation more and more often in Germany where young people do strive to go to university but decide to be an apprentice first.