Who We Are

Woodworking, one of humankind's most ancient skills, remains to this day a source of great personal satisfaction and wealth. In many other modern jobs, automation has cut the value of human labor. Not from fine woodworking, however. No prefabricated product can match the luster and luxury of hand-crafted boats, custom homes, and original cabinets.

You can join this profession through the Wood Construction program at Seattle Central. Our teachers have worked in the industry, earned employers’ respect, and mastered the skills. Most important, they know how to make the craft real to you. 

Since our start as Gompers in 1936, we have trained the Northwest’s best woodworkers.

After an all-inclusive core training (safety, skills, tools, and materials), today’s full-time students can specialize in Cabinet Making, Carpentry, or Boat Building. Each specialty can give you job-winning credentials, too, either an Associate of Applied Science degree or certificate.

For hobbyists, convenient evening classes extend our expertise to you. We can boost a beginner’s confidence to tackle do-it-yourself jobs and guide an old hand toward new mastery.

Seldom have job prospects for skilled wood workers looked more promising. Cranes dot Seattle’s skyline. Puget Sound business booms. Buyers have the income and low interest rates to demand new homes, remodels and rehabs, fine cabinet work, and even that wooden boat of their dreams. Local employers respect and hire our students.

When you become a student in the Wood Construction Center, you join Seattle Central Community College, one of America's top five community colleges. Known nationally for its innovative educational programs and services, Seattle Central serves about 10,000 students each quarter. It has full accreditation from the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.