Construction Trades
Construction Trades
Build it rightfrom theground up.
Learn layout, framing, tool use, and job-site safety by building real structures, not models. You'll train toward NCCER Core and NCCER Level 1 Carpentry, two credentials the construction industry knows by name.
$60,580 median
What carpenters earn nationally. The top 10% earn more than $99,910.
2 Years
Junior and senior year. A senior-only option is available, but you'll miss a full year of lab time and credential prep.
No Tuition
Lab fees are typically a few hundred dollars. Payment plans are available.
College Credit
Earn college credit toward a degree while you are still in high school.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Carpenters, May 2025 wage data. Pay depends on experience, certifications, and employer.
Credentials You Can Earn
Both are earned by passing the assessment. We get you ready. The score is yours.
NCCER
Core
- Job-site safety
- Hand and power tools
- Construction math
- Blueprint reading
- Rigging and material handling
NCCER
Level 1 Carpentry
- Building materials and fasteners
- Floor systems
- Wall and ceiling framing
- Roof framing
- Windows and exterior doors
Both credentials are recorded in NCCER's national registry, so a contractor anywhere in the country can look up what you completed.
Real Builds. Real Deadlines.
Construction is measuring, cutting, and fastening, but it's also reading the plan and knowing why it's built that way. You'll learn both.
- Job-site safety and tool use
- Reading and working from blueprints
- Measuring, layout, and construction math
- Floor, wall, and roof framing
- Material selection and ordering
- Windows, doors, and exterior finish
- Interior finish and trim carpentry
- Estimating what a job takes in time and material
In the labYou'll run Milwaukee and DeWalt tools, the same ones you'll pick up on a job site.
Why WCCC
You build real things
No birdhouses. You'll frame walls, build stairs, set roof trusses, and put up sheds from the ground up — the same work, in the same order, as a real job site.
Keep your home school
You're still part of your home high school. Graduate with your class, and keep playing sports, going to prom, and showing up for homecoming.
Steady demand
Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 62,800 openings for carpenters each year through 2035, most of them from workers retiring or moving into other work.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 projections.Where This Can Lead
This program is a head start, not the finish line. When you graduate, you'll have real options:
Start working
Entry-level roles with residential builders, commercial contractors, and remodeling crews
Keep training
A registered apprenticeship where you earn while you learn, or college and technical school
Keep building
Higher NCCER levels, specialty trades, and eventually running crews or your own business
Take a Look Around
Applications open December 2.
See the lab before you apply.