How do you learn a profession in the US when you can't go to college?

Just curious. I live in the Netherlands and when someone here wants to become, for instance, an electrician or a dentist's assistant or some other profession that does not require college but does require some topic-focused education, they go to an MBO (professional education school). But when in tv series from the US, people just either go to college or start working immediately after high school. Are that truly the only two options in the US and if no, what are the other options?