Harmel Academy of the Trades
Skilled Trades. Great Books. Spiritual Community.
A skilled tradesman can work in many disciplines, but at Harmel, we define “skilled tradesman” as “a man whose way of life is to put things in order”—in his work, in his community, and in his relationship with God. Forming Catholic tradesmen since 2020 — the first school of its kind in America, Harmel Academy is more than a traditional trade school, it’s a unique post-secondary academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan that trains men in a skilled trade and forms them in their Catholic faith.
Learn to Work. Learn to Pray.
Work is, above all, a way for the human person to become what God has designed him to be: a creative collaborator with Christ in the creation and redemption of the world. At Harmel, men learn how the ancient Christian synthesis of prayer and work can provide them a model for a peaceful, satisfying, fruitful life in relationship with Christ.
Why Harmel?
Community
Harmel men live in households — small groups of different years and trades who share meals, leisure and the daily work of holding one another to holiness.
Prayer
Ora et labora: men pray Lauds, Vespers and Compline together daily, learning from St. Joseph that prayer is not a break from work but the soul of it.
Work
Work is good in itself — a share in God's own making of the world — so a man's trade here forms him as surely as it pays him.
Study
Great books read in a monastic key rather than an academic one, where a welder reading Flannery O'Connor is not taking a break from welding.
Programs Like None Other
At Harmel Academy, you can be formed into a man of skill, integrity, faith, and insight. Discern your path here and you will join a community of men blazing a new trail in faith and work.
A Harmel man doesn’t pick his trade on day one — he tries them all. In year one, Foundations, he goes through welding, electrical, automotive, carpentry, construction, HVAC and plumbing, small engines and machining, alongside the blueprint reading, shop math and safety the work demands. By the time he chooses a path in his second year, he chooses it with a torch, a meter and a set of blueprints already in his hands.
Let’s Connect
If you have questions, want to learn more about Harmel’s programs, or want to set up a campus visit, reach out to us. One of our staff will get back to you within 24 business hours.
"*" indicates required fields
IRON SHARPENS IRON.
Whether you’re learning how to rebuild a CNC Machine, studying the strangeness of a Flannery O’Connor short story, or pinning your buddy to the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mat, you’ll never lack a challenge at Harmel Academy. Here, men push one another to become disciplined, prayerful, joyful, and serious men.
Join the Next Generation of Catholic Tradesmen
The world is in desperate need of skilled tradesmen of character and virtue. And our communities and families need responsible, creative, hardworking men. But such men need a place to learn, grow, and mature. Why not be part of such a community, and help form the next generation of Catholic tradesmen?