In recent years, four trade schools have opened. Combining training in various trades, each of these schools offers courses in Catholic liberal arts. The focus of each is to form young people to be strong, well formed and well informed Catholics who are skilled in a trade.
Harmel Academy of the Trades, Grand Rapids, MI offers men a "path to form the whole person: mind, body, and soul. Harmel students live together, creating a community of workmen that supports one another in all things. Additionally, mentoring and networking with experienced tradesmen and business owners is part of life at Harmel. Harmel requires all of its students to work 20-30 hours per week while they are students. Information about tuition and scholarships can be found here.
They offer three programs. The "Foundations of Skilled Stewardship" program is project based and required of all first year students. Training men in the "fundamentals of skilled work and spiritual maturity," this program can serve as a gap year between high school and college or as the preface for training in the trades. Its purpose is to help young men become "intentional, mature, and self-reliant." Additionally, the program introduces students to these trades: auto repair and maintenance, carpentry, construction, electrical work, home maintenance, HVAC, machining, plumbing, and welding.
The Machine & Systems Technology program is a one year apprenticeship based program designed to train young men to work on full systems within manufacturing and machining environments. Students will learn manufacturing theory while gaining deep, practical experience.
Lastly, Harmel's "God and Man at Work" Humanities program is a four semester (two year) cycle of humanities classes. Apprentices take all four semesters while gap year students only take the first two. Topics such as living in a post-Christian world, conforming one's life to Christ, the vocations of husband and father, co-creator/laborers with God, and servants of the larger community, practical wisdom, prayer, and the call to intimacy with God are deeply addressed through this cycle of courses.
Scholarships are available. See https://www.harmelacademy.org/
The College of St. Joseph the Worker, located in Steubenville, OH offers a six year program to both men and women. Students will receive training in carpentry, electrical work, HVAC, or plumbing as well as earn a bachelor's degree (BA) in Catholic Studies. The first three years are completed onsite in Steubenville while the final three years are completed in the student's home state or other chosen qualified area. The program's focus is on the three dimensions of the lay vocation: work, family, and the temporal order. The first year includes broad training in the building trades. The NCCER program results in a nationally recognized certification in Ohio. (The College will help students obtain certification in other states as well.) The second and third years' focus is on the classroom/shop training in the student's chosen trade. The following three years are spent doing on the job training and completing the liberal arts courses online. Information about tuition and fees can be found here. For complete information, go to: https://www.collegeofstjoseph.
Santiago Trade School in Silverado, CA accepts fifteen new men to become students each semester into their two year program. Students gain experience on jobsites, are mentored in spiritual wisdom, and form manly friendships, ultimately leading work projects and being train in a specific trade. Friendship between students is a key pillar of the program, forming manly relationships through which the men build each other up. Students learn the trade skills needed to build their own home someday. Their practical training includes work on the actual on-site efforts to increase the capacity of the Santiago Retreat Center which sits on 800 acres in the Orange County foothills. The men are developed in a two year formation program which includes daily prayer and Mass as well as bi-weekly formation courses. For complete information, please see: https://www.
San Damiano College for the Trades, in Springfield, IL is run by the Norbertines from St. Michael's Abbey in Orange County, CA. They
hope to open Fall 2025 with 75 men. During the first year, students are introduced to arborist, carpentry, multi-disciplinary church restoration, HVAC, masonry, roofing, and welding. These students will work 24 hours per week during the first year. Apprenticeship in one's chosen trade will begin the second year and run for two years. Apprentices work 40 hours during the summer and 24 hours per week during the school year during their first year. During the second year of apprenticeship (their third at San Damiano), students will work 40 hours per week. During apprenticeship, students' work is expected to cover most or all of the fees. They will learn a trade as
well as earn an AA degree in liberal arts. SDCOT also offers a non-degree program in their House of Formation. Men in this program will be formed in the moral, intellectual, and theological virtues as they learn a trade. It is expected that students will complete their program with no debt. Complete information is available on their website: https://www.sandamianotrades.
Catholic human
formation you seek is being offered at these schools in conjunction with
the training in the trades.
For more information about college prep services, especially for Catholics, and our highly effective College Success Program, please visit our website, Celtic College Consultants. We do serve teens and families from all backgrounds.
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