Table of Contents

The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters (MRCC) represents over 14,000 carpenters & millwrights and they have a massive 147,000sq ft training facility on Detroit’s Westside at 96 and Livernois.
One of their key features is community engagement in the form of a beautifully designed 44-foot-long MRCC trailer built to conduct mobile field trips to schools across the entire state of Michigan.
Officially called the Schools to Tools Mobile Field Trip, this interactive mobile classroom is staffed by 10-12 apprentices and can handle 40 kids per hour. It is not recommended for children younger than 11 years old.
Once the trailer is set up, mobile wheeled stations deploy from it. These include framing, leveling for millwrights, scaffolding, impact driver, and the hammer station, which is the most popular.
Since their first stop on Labor Day 2023, the MRCC trailer has visited over 180 schools and engaged with nearly 40,000 students.
I was able to recently see this thing in action at Detroit’s Cody High School (Joy & Southfield) and it’s quite spectacular.
Kindly chatting with me is Zach Rich, a Schools to Tools representative with the MRCC.

1.) What year did your trailer/program start? Official inception story?
The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights created Schools to Tools with the help of grant funding in 2022. We launched our mobile field trip on Labor Day 2023, and our continuing education programming shortly thereafter.
2.) How many people work on the program?
We have a core team of five, but we are supported by dozens of business agents, apprenticeship instructors, and apprentices who help staff our mobile field trips, allowing students to interact directly with skilled trades professionals.
3.) Where are you located?
Schools to Tools is based out of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights’ Detroit Training Center at 11687 American Ave., Detroit, MI 48204, but we travel the state to bring programming to students, parents, and educators.
4.) What are some of the most important and significant aspects of what you’re doing?
Unionized skilled tradespeople build Michigan: our roads and bridges, solar fields and power plants, factories and office buildings, housing and storefronts, and more. The men and women who pursue careers in construction are crucial to our economic future and quite literally leave their mark on our state through their work.
This is rewarding work that offers competitive salaries and meaningful benefits including quality healthcare, and retirement supported by both defined-benefit pension and defined-contribution annuity plans. Union skilled trades members take pride in what they build, are empowered to live rich lives filled with friends and family, can leverage their skills to grow and shape their careers in unexpected ways, and are able to retire with dignity.
Too often, young adults find their way into the skilled trades only after having tried college, the military or work in another field. When it occurs to them that they have finally found a career that excites them in the trades, they often regret the years spent pursuing directions that were not a good fit for their skills or their interests. While college is a great option for some, exploring union skilled trades is an alternative that should not be overlooked.
Schools to Tools aims to provide students, parents, teachers, and school counselors with the information, training, and hands-on experiences they need to make informed career decisions and be aware of all their options. This is done through our Mobile Field Trip program, providing State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECH) credits for educators, and more completely free of charge.
5.) What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about what you do?
A huge misconception is that the skilled trades are only for students who do not want to go to college. Being in construction and working in the union skilled trades is a high-paying and in-demand career. Our members are making, on average, over $81,000 a year plus overtime, full health benefits, and two forms of retirement (both a pension and annuity – which works like a 401k).
Not only that, our members are extremely happy with their work. We can see what we have created, and as we go through our careers, we can point out structures like the Gordie Howe Bridge or a new lock in the Soo and say, “I built that. That exists because of me.”
6.) Any upcoming events?
Our Mobile Field Trip is already booked for fall semester at over four schools a week across Michigan. There is a significant waitlist for schools, but the cost of the Mobile Field Trip coming to them is completely free. We also provide free State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECH) training for educators who need career-based credits for their certifications. Details on these programs can be found at www.schoolstotools.org.
Those interested in a debt-free union apprenticeship, where you earn while you learn, can find more information at www.buildmifuture.com.
Schools to Tools (MRCC program) | MRCC Homepage | Instagram
Contact: Zach Rich
