Sam Buford Woodworking Institute asks state for $12 million to expand skilled‑trades training

Sam Buford Woodworking Institute founder Luke Barnett asked a House appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday for a one‑time $12,000,000 state capital investment to complete the first phase of a $48,000,000 master plan that would raise the school’s annual graduates from 24 to 60 and expand continuing education courses.

The request comes as Barnett and the institute argue Michigan faces a widening shortage of carpenters, plumbers and other skilled tradespeople that is slowing construction, infrastructure and other projects statewide. Barnett told the Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity that the institute’s expansion would also support growth in Michigan’s forest‑products sector and the emerging mass‑timber construction market.

Barnett, founder and president of the Sam Buford Woodworking Institute in Adrian, said the school currently admits 24 students a year, is turning…