ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — For most guys, it’s a dream come true. And for many women, it certainly would scratch the shopping itch.

Go to a hardware store and pick out $600 worth of tools. For free. Yep, that’s five claw hammers, utility knives, screwdrivers, tape measures, hand saws, pliers and wrenches to name a few. And don’t forget a nice rolling tool chest to store all your new gear.

That’s the invitation John Kane, a building construction teacher at the at South Baldwin Center for Technology got a few weeks ago. He and his students prowled the aisles of an area Lowe’s picking out their new gear.

Lowe’s and SkillsUSA teamed up to offer tools to schools,” said Kane.

Kane admits that he’d forgotten that he had applied for the program in the bustle of getting students through their various projects.

“I was surprised when I got the call that we had won,” he said.

The tools will be put to good use.

“With students being students and the tools getting almost constant use, we can use them,” said Kane. He added that teachers and students from other departments at the school borrow tools from his program and occasionally forget to return them.

While understandable, that cuts down on the number of tools available to Kane’s students. “We teach basic carpentry, both residential and light commercial,” said Kane, adding that students learn to lay out buildings and set trusses in the program.

Tools used in the program have to be professional grade, able to stand up to day to day, hard use. A rechargeable drill, for example, would retail for $199 to $400.

The students make outdoor furniture first as a learning project and then the Adirondack-style chairs are sold to provide revenue for the program.

“Normally, I get $400 a year for supplies,” said Kane. With budget constraints on the school system, it’s not certain that Kane will get that much, so the new tools are doubly welcome.

“The students can get college credits (for working in the program) or they go to an apprentice program,” said Kane, who kept a watchful eye of a student using a saw.“It’s a useful skill.”

According to a press release from Lowe’s, the company is giving away about $3000,000 worth of tools to around 500 building trades and other programs around the country. The program kicked of in March of this year in Georgia.

“With Kobalt tools in their toolbox and the education and knowledge from SkillsUSA and their schools, we believe students will be ready to succeed when they enter the workforce,” said Larry D. Stone, Lowe’s president and chairman of the chain’s Charitable and Education Foundation.

SkillsUSA got its start in 1965 as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, Inc. The organization changed its name to SkillsUSA–VICA in 1999, and adopted the “SkillsUSA” name in 2004.

“I was great,” said Kane of the ‘shopping trip’ with his students. “We had a list. We will be putting all the tools to good use.”