Harmel Academy – A New Catholic Trade School

    Do you have a son who wants to work with his hands? If so, there is a new Catholic residential post-secondary option that you may want to consider.

Harmel Academy is  hosted on the beautiful campus of Kuyper College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Harmel students live in dedicated dormitory floors, and receive instruction in dedicated classrooms and labs. Dining, sports, recreation, library and other areas are shared with Kuyper students. The campus is 15 minutes from the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, and is near both parks and premium retail and restaurants.

 

Program of Study

The initial program of study offered by Harmel Academy is Machine & Systems Technology.  This highly technical program offers a diverse educational experience that prepares students for employment in multiple high-demand occupations.  The program focuses on full-systems within a manufacturing, machine and facilities environment.  With a focus on critical thinking and team oriented problem solving on real-world problems, the students will learn about the following topics:

Hydraulics · Pneumatics · Robotics · Manual Machining · Electronics · Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) · Computer Aided Machining (CAM) · Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machining · Electrical · Rigging · Welding · Machine Repair · Troubleshooting · HVAC · Guarding & Sheet Metal · etc

By offering a program with such a wide variety of topics, graduates of the program will be highly qualified to begin a career in one of the following high-demand occupations:

Machine Repair, Maintenance & Troubleshooting · Electrician · Facility Maintenance · Die Maker · Mold Maker · CNC Machinist · CNC Programmer · Die or Mold Designer · Machine Designer · Robotics Technician · Welder · General Machinist · Fabricator · Production Technician · etc

Harmel Academy has chosen to pursue the integration of the Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) curriculum as the basis of the Technical Education experience. This is an industry recognized and validated curriculum.

Harmel Academy of the Trades begins with two years living on campus. Students will work part-time as a paid registered apprentice throughout the week at a collaborating employer, while also taking trade and humanities classes on-campus. After two years, graduates then continue their education in the trades as an apprentice by working full-time at a collaborating company. For the final four years, apprentices will complete their apprenticeship by taking related technical instruction part-time through Harmel Academy.

Harmel Academy is seeking accreditation to grant an Associates degree at the end of the first two years, and a Bachelors degree and Journeyman’s Card at the end of the 4-year apprenticeship. Harmel Academy is not currently accredited.

 

Who was Leon Harmel?

The school is named after Léon Harmel (1829-1915), a successful French Catholic industrialist who led a movement to recognize the dignity and rights of industrial workers. He transformed his factory into a “Christian Corporation” by providing safe working conditions, a just wage, worker associations, health care, and retirement benefits during a time of extreme worker exploitation throughout industrial Europe.

His work was praised by Pope Leo XIII, with whom he became a close associate and friend. Harmel’s work directly inspired and influenced Leo XIII’s great encyclical Rerum Novarum.

For more information, please visit https://www.harmelacademy.org

Author: Editor