‘TRADE COLLEGE’ — Jacob Imam, founder of the College of St. Joseph the Worker, spoke to individuals about the first-of-its-kind institution’s motive during its Blue Collar Scholar open house event Thursday. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — An open house on Thursday introduced individuals to a new institution in Steubenville, one that’s pushing the boundaries of education as a first-if-its-kind Catholic “trade college.”

At the College of St. Joseph the Worker, students are educated simultaneously in a trade of their choice and study toward obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Catholic studies, all while working as an apprentice to eventually graduate debt-free. Having recently obtained certification through the Ohio Department of Higher Education and ApprenticeOhio, the trade college is accepting applications for its first class in the fall.

The trade college’s Blue Collar Scholar open house offered individuals a look inside the college’s workshop, located at 157 N. Third St., in the former Tri-State Printing building. Visitors could tour the workshop’s bays, with four zones corresponding to the four offered trades: carpentry, HVAC, plumbing and electrical.

Jacob Imam, the college’s founder, said in a presentation: “We are trying to simultaneously train our future students in the Catholic intellectual tradition to earn their BA’s in theology, while also training them in the skilled trades … so as to earn their journeyman’s status.

“(At the trade college) one actually gets paid to train in the skilled trades. So, rather than graduating from college up to your eyeballs in debt, … our students will be able to leave college financially net positive.”

Imam addressed the motivation behind the new educational model’s creation, citing issues inherent in higher education today that warranted the system’s reclamation in a fresh way. He also pointed out society’s “false dichotomy” that says one can’t be intelligent and practice a trade or vice versa.

The trade college was modeled after the Catholic Church’s understanding of higher education’s grounding in truth and the dignity of labor, Imam said, noting that Jesus, a carpenter by trade, is the prime example of both realities. He added that the college will hopefully combat shortages in skilled labor and help students be “rooted” in the place where they live and work.

“Looking ahead to the day when we get to train our students in the trades, we are looking forward to offering them a freedom, not only spiritually but … psychologically as well,” Imam said.

Visitors next heard from Michael Sullivan, the trade college’s president and a local contractor with over 20 years of experience. Sullivan said the program was developed to provide personal and academic formation to create adults ready for the workforce.

The six-year program is a union of approximately eight years’ worth of combined bachelor’s degree and apprenticeship studies, Sullivan said. The first three years are spent “steeped in Catholic teaching and trade training” at the Steubenville workshop. Classes are taught by a small group of professors like Imam, who holds a doctorate in theology, and cover scripture and general education.

Also included in the first-year curriculum are an intense “anatomy of the home” course, the basics of troubleshooting and plenty of shop work, Sullivan said. Students receive an overview of all four offered trades, but choose one to specialize in upon their second year.

The program’s last three years focus more on on-the-job training, with a certain number being required for individuals to achieve status as a journeyman, a specific level of competency in the trade. Students will take online classes for the academic portion, while working nearly full-time at trade college-approved shops throughout the U.S. That apprenticeship work will earn the student money and take care of their debt, not to mention set them up with employment for after the program.

Tuition for the first three years is $15,000 per year, Sullivan said, but it drops to $5,000 per year during the last three years due to the academic classes going online.

“It’s a very rigorous program, but it needs to be in order for them to accomplish both the (bachelor’s) degree and the trade program effectively,” Sullivan said. “It’s our hope that this model will be followed by other cities all around the country.”

Sullivan said Steubenville is the perfect location for the trade college, as it is “ripe for restoration” and has a strong and supportive community. Other cities have reached out to the trade college about opening a branch elsewhere, Sullivan said, but the institution is content where it’s at, though it’s willing to help others start their own programs.

Justin Sofio, director of development, encouraged individuals to partner with the trade college to fulfill its mission. Methods for partnering including donating construction materials or unused properties, as well as donating to meet the institution’s $16 million capital campaign goal, $4.8 million of which has already been met.