About Us

The Legacy of Excellence: Our Journey Since 1960s

Our foundation was laid by African American Naval seamen returning from global assignments. Having maintained complex, high-pressure propulsion and refrigeration systems on the world’s most advanced warships, he returned to Michigan with world-class skillsets. Despite being discredited by local industries that used far simpler technology, he knew his worth and began a grassroots movement to elevate trade standards.

 

Leon Big D Johnson return to his native Detroit after serving as Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy on the USS Saratoga. Having maintained the massive, complex high-pressure steam turbines and sprawling refrigeration systems of a USS Saratoga, he possessed technical knowledge that rivals top industrial engineers in the state of Michigan.

Seeking work at the local municipal power plants, he was told his military experience didn’t translate to civilian systems.  The cities of Detroit aging low-pressure boilers were rudimentary compared to the advanced systems he operated and oversaw at sea, yet he was barred from even entry-level maintenance roles due to systemic bias and discredited credentials.  Unable to work in the mainstream industry, Leon Big D Johnson begin documenting hid specialized knowledge on tape cosets to teach naval veterans and younger men and women in the community how to operate and maintain powerplant complex systems in more practical manner that local “experts” couldn’t handle.

PPPE Vision isn’t just about job training and jobs, but about a lost history of technical excellence that the city of Detroit and perhaps the world refuses to acknowledge.

The Vocational Institute of Michigan after decades of creating strategies to train and place underserve men and women into the skilled trades industry, Drew A. Johnson, holder of the city of Dearborn Michigan’ highest stationary steam and refrigeration credential, holder of degrees in electrical engineering, and computer science, from a distinguish Catholic university, while graduating with business degree  created an online skilled trades training and placement platform for The Vocational Institute Of Michigan.  he met with one of Detroit’s largest school districts, several Michigan cities, school districts, and a Michigan oil refinery, all in need of self-sustaining building operations to offer a structured help desk to help streamline building operations an miniatous aimed a reducing loss while keeping safe and secure premise and surrounding communities.   

Leon Big D Johnson return to his native Detroit after serving as Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy on the USS Saratoga. Having maintained the massive, complex high-pressure steam turbines and sprawling refrigeration systems of a USS Saratoga, he possessed technical knowledge that rivals top industrial engineers in the state of Michigan.

Seeking work at the local municipal power plants, he was told his military experience didn’t translate to civilian systems.  The cities of Detroit aging low-pressure boilers were rudimentary compared to the advanced systems he operated and oversaw at sea, yet he was barred from even entry-level maintenance roles due to systemic bias and discredited credentials.  Unable to work in the mainstream industry, Leon Big D Johnson begin documenting hid specialized knowledge on tape cosets to teach naval veterans and younger men and women in the community how to operate and maintain powerplant complex systems in more practical manner that local “experts” couldn’t handle.

PPPE Vision isn’t just about job training and jobs, but about a lost history of technical excellence that the city of Detroit and perhaps the world refuses to acknowledge.

The Vocational Institute of Michigan after decades of creating strategies to train and place underserve men and women into the skilled trades industry, Drew A. Johnson, holder of the city of Dearborn Michigan’ highest stationary steam and refrigeration credential, holder of degrees in electrical engineering, and computer science, from a distinguish Catholic university, while graduating with business degree  created an online skilled trades training and placement platform for The Vocational Institute Of Michigan.  he met with one of Detroit’s largest school districts, several Michigan cities, school districts, and a Michigan oil refinery, all in need of self-sustaining building operations to offer a structured help desk to help streamline building operations an miniatous aimed a reducing loss while keeping safe and secure premise and surrounding communities.   

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