The Campaign for Historic Trades, a national program of Preservation Maryland created to broaden and expand training in the high–demand field of historic trades, and Conversation Legacy, a nationwide nonprofit that engages youth, young adults and veterans in conservation and service programs, today announced a partnership to recruit and train individuals in historic preservation trades.
In the initial steps of this partnership, The Campaign for Historic Trades will recruit for the National Park Service’s Traditional Trades Apprenticeship Program (TTAP). TTAP program provides paid, hands-on, historic preservation trade training for young adults. As a nationwide organization, Conservation Legacy has the sophisticated support systems in place to hire, deploy, and lead members from a variety of backgrounds through innovative programming across the country. Together, both organizations will recruit and support individuals toward job readiness and navigating a career path in historic trades in the private sector and within public land agencies, like the National Park Service or the US Forest Service.
“The Campaign for Historic Trades is thrilled to partner with Conservation Legacy on this important initiative that will increase opportunities to enter trades careers,” said Nicholas Redding, President and CEO of the Campaign. “It is not widely known that there is a dire need for properly trained trades workers and craftspeople; without trained hands there is no ability to perform vital revitalization and restoration work across the country. This partnership allows us to get trainees on the right path so irreplaceable, iconic historic resources on public lands can be properly preserved. Additionally, thispartnership possesses the unique and unprecedented opportunity to form and develop historic trades corps with local and state public land agencies, as well as nonprofits.”
A trainee works on a historic window at the Historic Preservation Training Center in Frederick, Md.
“Conservation Legacy has worked with the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center since 2015. Together, the organizations have provided training and supported career pathways into traditional trades for over 200 young adults and veterans,” added Rob Spath, CEO of Conservation Legacy. “We recognize the need for increased skills and expertise in traditional trades to prevent our country and our citizens from losing critical pieces of our shared history. Joining forces with The Campaign for Historic Trades, a nonprofit leader in traditional trades, supports a more effective and efficient approach to address the complex challenges inherent in historic structures, saving us all time and resources. Most importantly, it amplifies our collective impact for our nation’s parks and communities.”
The Campaign has begun recruitment for the program; to get involved visit:
https://historictrades.org/get-involved/ and for national program opportunities visit https://stewardslegacy.org/open-positions
Partners from Conservation Legacy, The Campaign for Historic Trades and the National Parks Service inside the Historic Preservation Training Center in Frederick, Md.
The Campaign for Historic Trades The Campaign for Historic Trades, powered by Preservation Maryland, a 90-year-old nonprofit headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is the philanthropic partner of the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center. The Campaign recently launched a first-of-its-kind effort to establish registered federal apprenticeships for historic trades like restoration carpentry and masonry. This national effort has the potential to reshape the landscape of historic trades and will create an entirely new workforce development pipeline. In addition, the organization is building out a national trades’ training corps, creating hands-on opportunities for young adults and recent veterans looking to build careers and is supporting the expansion and awareness of the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center. For more information about the program, to get involved or to support, visit: www.historictrades.org
Conservation Legacy For over 20 years, Conservation Legacy has been engaging individuals to complete important conservation projects throughout the nation, envisioning a legacy of healthy lands, air and water; thriving people and resilient communities. Conservation Legacy provides support for local conservation service programs under the leadership of a national organization, delivering high quality programming in communities across the country to produce enduring impact through local action. For more information, visit https://conservationlegacy.org/about