Many professions developed qualification routes built on the assumption that 16 or 18 years would enter the world of work and gradually sit their exams whilst working eg engineering, surveying, nursing, analytical chemistry, accountancy, law, actuaries. Typically those structures are still in place but the extent to which they remain live and kicking depends on the profession.
Within accountancy, interlocking exam paths give flexibility and modern apprenticeship standards have been deftly grafted onto existing structures. In other cases, such as law and nursing, there was a wholesale and unnecessary 'graduatisation' and only now we seeing the pendulum swing back.
To answer @Piggywaspushed's two questions: I think one solution is to show A level students who naturally incline to the likes of sociology or history or politics that many of the traditional 'qualification organised' professions are fertile ground for them. For example, accountancy is a huge field and is not just about businesses and rarely just about numbers. The changes in qualification route in the legal sector will also open up more opportunities for aspiring humanity and social science types who do not want to go down the formal uni route.
One big change in recent times is that more employers have 'after college' online sessions 5-6pm where you can find out more about professions and school leaver routes into them. Obviously not everyone wants to be in those professions, but it is about opening up different paths.
Your other question relates to the challenges of being in a rural area with poor transport options. There is no easy answer. I live in an area with well connected cities and deeply rural parts and see rural students having to think more creatively about non-uni paths. It can sometimes involve taking an admin role in a local mid-sized business and then persuading the employer to sponsor professional qualifications eg CIPD, CILEX, RICS. However, for many, uni away from home is the route taken and often means they do not return or do so a decade later. It would be interesting to know if you find a similar picture where you are.