We could probably stand to stop treating software engineering like some holy calling for geniuses only and start treating it for what it is: a skilled trade that can be regulated and accredited like all the rest of them. It's really not a wild idea and it wouldn't stop kids (or anyone, really) from learning on their own. My parents taught me how to use tools as a kid and I learned how to fix my own toilet, but I didn't decide that made me qualified to go start plumbing professionally without apprenticing first.