Labor
We adore you, oh Christ, and we praise you, for by the wood you worked we have been saved.
Our Savior worked in a woodshop, not a cubicle.
Christ worked for 18 years on the wood by which he would redeem the world. Every nail Christ drove was a meditation on the ones that would pierce his hands. Our Savior, the Son of God, was a homeschooled carpenter who pounded nails, not a computer keyboard.
In our age of digital distraction, San Damiano College for the Trades aims at restoring the trades to man so that he may support himself and his family through the honest work of his hands while contributing tangible goods to society.
Technical Instruction:
Year 1
Students take multiple 3-5 week modules in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, roofing, ecclesial restoration, welding-fabrication, and masonry.
Year 2
Full apprenticeship training begins in several formats: weeklong stints, weekly night classes, or online modules.
Year 3
Students continue the technical instruction from their current apprenticeship finishing over 200 technical instruction hours.
On-the-job Training:
Year 1
Students work 24 hrs/wk for local contractors. Integrity, zeal, and a willingness to learn are tested, and at the end of this first year, students apply for an apprenticeship in one of the trades.
Year 2
Students work at least 40 hrs/wk during the summer and 24 hrs/wk during the academic year.
Year 3
During the summer, students work 40+ hrs/wk in on-the-job training. Students remain at 40 hrs/wk during their final year in the San Damiano programme.
Trades for Inaugural Class
Carpentry
Traditionally understood to be Jesus’ trade of choice, our carpenters will learn everything from basic house framing to cabinetry. Wood types, finishes, various types of joinery, and other topics will be explored in class and executed in on-site projects.
Ecclesial Restoration
From stone work to stained glass and wood preservation, this multi-disciplinary track focuses on restoration techniques and the various materials likely to be encountered there.
Electrical
With a focus on domestic electrical work, students will learn both repair and installation, applying their technical knowledge to projects with local contractors and their fellow classmates in other tracks.
HVAC
Students encounter the creativity of airflow and the skill of building out venting to move air in residential applications. Students learn about compressors and air handlers, as well as controls.
Plumbing
Among the most durable of trades, plumbing requires skill and some grit. Students learn techniques for harnessing and managing water in residential settings, from copper, to PVC and Pex.
Roofing
Covering multiple roof systems, this track will also include restoration and repair work. Students will become knowledgeable and useful members of building teams as they complete roofing work on local and/or national projects.
Welding & Fabrication
Masonry
“Through work man must earn his daily bread and contribute to the continual advance of science and technology and, above all, to elevating unceasingly the cultural and moral level of the society within which he lives in community with those who belong to the same family.”
