Best Trade Schools in Portland, OR

Concorde is an institution that has been serving Portland for more than 65 years. It offers a variety of trade programs in the areas of dentistry, nursing, diagnostics, patient care, and allied health. These include career paths as massage therapists, dental assistants, and pharmacy technicians. The school offers special accommodation to veterans who are planning to pursue a career in healthcare. It is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.

The Portland Beauty School has been teaching technical courses in the metro for more than 20 years. People who want to work in salons can enroll in the Hair Design program, which covers haircutting, hairstyling, and extensions. The school also has an esthetics course that teaches students about facial treatments, waxing, and makeup application. Those who want to put up their own nail spa can take the Nail Technology course that includes training in artificial nail enhancement and polish application.

Portland Community College serves clients in the metro. People who want to work in the healthcare industry can enroll in the Dental Assisting, Medical Assisting, and Emergency Medical Services programs. The school also offers a variety of courses for work in the construction, electrical, automotive, and aviation fields, such as HVAC maintenance, welding, building inspection, and auto collision repair programs. Portland Community College has more than 60,000 students and offers a foundation for studying in four-year schools.

Portland Jewelry Academy is a trade school teaching the craft of jewelry making in Portland. It offers a 16-week introductory course in jewelry manufacturing covering three overlapping sections. Lessons begin with fabrication and precious metal metallurgy. Next is stone casting and repair and then wax carving, culminating with the final project. The academy offers bench jeweler apprenticeships and vets its graduates in the industry. Instructor Jason Chandler is passionate that the jewelers’ skills are not lost to the next generation.

Sheet Metal Institue - Portland provides training programs to individuals around the metro. It focuses on helping students who wish to pursue a career in the sheet metal industry. It offers training programs concentrating on assisting individuals in learning to install industrial ductwork, architectural sheet metal, and HVAC systems. It also handles service technician programs that allow students to maintain different HVAC equipment, including air movers, split systems, package units, and chillers. Sheet Metal Institute also has a campus in Springfield.

The Northwest College of Construction offers leadership courses, apprenticeships, and training programs on construction careers to students in Portland. The college accepts apprenticeships in brick masonry, concrete finishing, carpentry, heavy equipment operation, and protective signaling. Students also partake in courses such as fundamentals of crew leadership, project management training, supervisory training program, and lean construction education program as part of the college's initiative in leadership development. NWCOC has partnerships with the Portland YouthBuilders and the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland.

Caregiver Training Institute is a post-secondary educational establishment that caters to individuals residing in Portland. The school offers courses for certified nursing assistants, medication aides, and persons who wish to learn basic life support and CPR procedures conforming to the American Heart Association’s standards. The establishment has approval from the Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). It was founded in 2008 by Julie Bucher, a registered nurse who contributed to developing the nursing assistant curriculum policy for the OSBN.