Charleston and southern West Virginia offer a network of career centers and technical schools that deliver hands-on training for high-demand trades. Institutions like Ben Franklin Career Center, Carver Career and Technical Education Center, Ross Medical Education Center, and United Technical Center provide flexible day and evening schedules, industry-accredited programs, and real-world externships.
Students can earn certifications in fields such as welding, HVAC, commercial driving, nursing, automotive technology, and culinary arts in as little as a few months to two years.
Tuition ranges from around $1,000 to $10,000, and tools like net price calculators and financial aid offices help learners budget their education.
Top Schools in the Area
Ben Franklin Career Center
Ben Franklin’s only campus is on 28th Street in Dunbar, just west of Charleston. It is also a Kanawha County high-school career center; adults enroll through the ACE adult programs office in Portable D1, behind the main building. All six adult programs are taught here: practical nursing, phlebotomy, commercial driving, welding, electrical and HVAC. Practical nursing and phlebotomy came here from Garnet Career Center in July 2022, and their clinical hours are spent at area hospitals, including CAMC. There is no campus housing.
- 500 28th Street Dunbar, WV 25064
Carver Career Center
Carver’s only campus is on Midland Drive in the Malden area east of Charleston. It is also a Kanawha County high-school career center running morning and afternoon sessions. Adults study here in ten programs, including cosmetology and barbering in a salon and barber shop open to the public, surgical technology, massage therapy and a BridgeValley veterinary technology degree with clinical work at local animal hospitals. There is no campus housing. Kanawha County’s practical nursing program is at Ben Franklin Career Center in Dunbar, not here.
- 4799 Midland Drive Charleston, WV 25306
Ross Medical Education Center
Ross Medical Education Center Charleston teaches medical assisting and dental assisting, not nursing assistant training as older descriptions say. Medical assisting takes 30 weeks by day or 36 in the evening and dental assisting 36 weeks, each with a six-week externship.
- 5707 MacCorkle Ave SE, Ste 20 Charleston, WV 25304