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O’FALLON, Mo. — St. Dominic High School will soon do what few coeducational Catholic high schools have done — teach the trades.

The 1,100-student school will launch a building trades program at the start of the 2025-2026 school year, adding St. Dominic to the small list of private schools in the region to offer trades curriculum on campus. 

“We have had many of our families come to St. Dominic who desire a Catholic education but thought their children would benefit from a trades program,� said Jim Welby, president of the O’Fallon high school. “We’re glad that many of them continue to choose St. Dominic, but now we can really offer that opportunity to families who are looking for a trades education that is also a Catholic education.� 

Coursework will focus on carpentry, electrical, plumbing/pipefitting and HVAC, all taught in a 28,000-square-foot warehouse next door that St. Dominic purchased through an anonymous $2.4 million gift. The curriculum will be restricted to upperclassmen.

Demand for trades programming has shot up as younger students weigh the value of four-year degrees. Generation Z has increasingly favored technical or certificate-based programs instead of the traditional and costly college route. And schools, along with employers seeking talent, have sought to beef up trades offerings in response.

Last school year, St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School began a pre-apprenticeship program where students earn the  to move on to union apprenticeships in bricklaying, painting, plumbing, pipefitting and more upon graduation.

“Our community needs workers in these fields,� said Valerie Todd, St. Mary’s principal. “It’s important we provide a wide variety of opportunities for our students to explore what post-secondary options are out there.�

Some area offerings are far from new but experienced recent growth. Local public schools have for years offered dual enrollment programs through St. Louis Community College and Ranken Technical School.

At the Special School District, students who attend North Tech and South Tech spend either their mornings or afternoons at the schools' campuses, with some recruited by Ameren, Spire and Boeing upon graduation.

St. Dominic’s program is unique in that students won’t have to leave the school's vicinity. The trades program’s facility will be within walking distance, school leaders said, and the coursework will be woven into students’ everyday schedules. 

“It’s not exclusively designed for kids who are planning to head into the industry or trade school,� Welby said. “It’s also open to students who just want to take a class to see if it’s something they like.�

Welby said St. Dominic pursued a trades program after parents and students asked for it. The school underwent strategic planning three years ago, and its community placed trade skills among their top wants. 

Even if students decide vocational careers are for them, Principal Stacy Stewart said she hopes the curriculum will spice up the days of a generation of students accustomed to learning and living on screens.

Today’s high schoolers were born in a “very digitized world,� she said. And while the building trades program will incorporate some technology, it will also offer a chance for students to learn in a way that is different compared to their entire life experiences.

“They’re working with their hands and they’re creating and building and shaping and accomplishing things that are in real life — not on a screen,� Stewart said.