Kuyper College Trades Program
Background
As a small, faith-based college and federally recognized Work College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kuyper College emphasizes learning that happens in and outside of the classroom so students graduate workplace ready and fulfill Kuyper’s mission to “form lifelong learners for purposeful lives of work and service to God and neighbor.”
In collaboration with TalentFirst, the Michigan Center for Adult College Success, the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), and various marketplace partners, Kuyper College is planning to launch a trades program in 2027-2028, focusing on manufacturing and the utilization of AI within the workplace. The trades program will provide credentials and undergraduate level degrees for dual enrolled, traditional, and adult learners in order to meet the talent need in West Michigan.
As a federally recognized Work College, Kuyper College partners with local for-profit and non-profit organizations to provide learning-work-service placements for students in KuyperWorks, the College’s work program. These partnership placements will provide students in the trades program with on-site learning opportunities as well as work experience, while keeping tuition affordable and lowering student debt at graduation.
Local Need for Trades Program
The need for a college-level trades program is vital, for there is an insufficient pipeline of skilled workers in West Michigan. Data provided by TalentFirst shows that:
- 46% of manufacturing openings in West Michigan remained vacant in 2024.
- Out of approximately 19,700 ninth graders each year, only 2000 will earn manufacturing related credentials within four years of enrollment, meeting just 29% of annual employer demand.
- Only 2 graduates with relevant manufacturing credentials enter the workforce for every 7 job openings.
- One in four manufacturing workers will retire by 2035.
- West Michigan is expected to provide 45% of new manufacturing jobs in Michigan over the next five years.
Because Kuyper College is innovative, nimble, and strategic, the College has a successful track record of developing curricular and cocurricular programs that help our students thrive in their workplaces and serve the broader community. A trades program will provide these same outcomes to a new demographic of students, and strengthen the pipeline from high school to college graduates to the West Michigan marketplace and community.
Local Partnerships and Support
TalentFirst is an alliance of CEOs working with educators, workforce leaders, policymakers and others dedicated to making West Michigan a leader in world-class talent. By collaborating on a regional scale to increase the quantity and quality of talent, we are elevating our region’s status as a place where employers want to locate and grow, so everyone who lives and works here can thrive.
The Michigan Center for Adult College Success was created in Michigan statute to support achieving the state’s Sixty by 30 talent goal. The Center serves as the state’s primary resource for research, support and best practices on increasing adult enrollment and completion of credentials and degrees in partnership with postsecondary institutions.
The Competency-Based Education Network uses competency-based and skills-first approaches to build new systems, connecting learning to job performance and, ultimately, to economic opportunity. And because our solutions work, we scale them across the field—so that skills are the bridge between learning and work, even as jobs and industries change.
Program Planning and Timeline
Kuyper College is working with its institutional accreditors – the Higher Learning Commission and the Association of Biblical Higher Education – to receive approval to launch a trades program in 2027-2028. The College, in partnership with TalentFirst, the Michigan Center for Adult College Success, and the Competency-Based Education Network, is reviewing data to inform marketing and recruitment efforts, and is developing partnerships with businesses in the trades that can provide on site learning and work opportunities for the students.
The College has increased the Director of Program Development to a full time position in order to oversee the development of the trades program. The College is also working with local trades industry business professionals who are interested in supporting this program by providing training and spaces in their facilities where students can learn and work.
Resources
The College is anticipating that a one-time $750,000 investment will fund nonrecurring needs to successfully launch this program. These funds will be used for acquiring equipment, securing learning and work spaces either on campus or at a local trades business, developing and training for the competency-based curriculum, upgrading IT services, and creating a marketing plan in coordination with the local trades partners. This investment will enable the College to launch a high-quality trades program by 2027-2028 and position this program to be sustainable.
