Preservation Trades Training: Preserving Our Collective Heritage While Training the Next Generation

By Virginia Murison, Consulting Preservation Architect

The importance and value of the skilled craftworker and the need to support traditional trades training has been recognized in the historic preservation field for many years.

The average age of workers skilled in the preservation trades is rising. As these specialists approach retirement, it will be critical to find ways to share their expertise and build a new cadre of preservation trades workers.

“Quality restoration work on historic buildings requires skilled workers in the traditional trades. Masons, carpenters, painters, plasterers, and others in the construction trades who know how to–and why we should–preserve, repair, replicate, and maintain historic materials and finishes are essential to historic preservation projects. However, the unfortunate reality is that there is an increasingly short supply of such craftspeople.”

~ Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Compounding the labor situation, the risk of significant climate-induced disasters such as severe flooding, wind and fire has become more prevalent. These extreme events can affect entire neighborhoods and/or larger regions simultaneously, leaving a trail of destruction. A workforce trained in the preservation trades can serve as an indispensable part of the recovery process, repairing much needed built sites for housing and commerce while preserving local identity and preventing history from being lost.

HISTORIC RESOURCES

Character-defining features convey the significance of the historical resource.  The visual aspects and physical features include materials, craftsmanship and decorative details.

While all building materials can degrade over time, a thoughtful maintenance and repair schedule paired with skilled tradespeople can mitigate harm to historic structures and preserve collective heritage more effectively.

The lack of trained preservation trades professionals in many markets creates an imbalance of supply and demand.  It also results in the loss of repairable, high-quality building elements such as windows and doors. These are often replaced with less sustainable, lower-quality, and unrepairable materials. Examples include the replacement of operable wood windows with fiberglass or vinyl, and the replacement of steel sash with aluminum windows which are not as strong and are visually bulky.

THE WORKFORCE

The growing shortage of skilled workers in the specialized trades is evident both in Hawai‘i and nationwide.  It is the result of several trends:

• The recent societal trend to devalue the skilled trades as an alternative to college and a worthwhile career path has led to a shortage of new workers entering the construction trades.
• This is occurring at the same time that many in the existing workforce are retiring (or have been furloughed during the pandemic).
• According to a 2019 survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, 80 percent of construction firms reported having difficulty in filling craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.
• Similarly, a survey by the National Association of Home Builders found 82 percent of respondents expected labor shortages to be their top issue in 2019.
• This lack of skilled workers is further magnified for the specialized traditional trades often needed for historic preservation projects.

Growing the ranks of skilled traditional trades workers would help to build preservation capacity in the construction trades and ensure that precious historic resources are preserved for future generations.

FRAMEWORK FOR TRADITIONAL TRADES TRAINING

The federal government can play an important role in promoting traditional trades training. NPS already makes a significant contribution through the work of the agency’s Historic Preservation Training Center, Western Center for Historic Preservation, and National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. Expanding the scope and scale of traditional trades training in America will require broadening engagement.

In 2020, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) established the Traditional Trades Training Task Force (TTTTF) to develop “key principles to guide federal, state, and local workforce development and training efforts” and to offer recommendations for actions that could be taken to grow the preservation trades sector.

Also last year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Preservation Partners Network established a two-year project to help statewide and local organizations address four significant, interrelated issues facing the preservation movement:

• Affordable housing and density
• Diversity, inclusion, and racial justice
• Preservation trades and workforce development
• Sustainability and climate action

At the local level, several preservation organizations have launched programs to address the need for more skilled workers in the preservation trades. In August, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation sponsored a Wooden Window Repair Workshop for carpenters with plans to continue future collaborations with the building industry and other community partners.

CASCADING BENEFITS

In addition to protecting historic resources, preservation trades training marshals a cascade of other positive benefits.

• Economic: The pandemic has turned our economy upside down, affecting the livelihoods of individuals, families and entire communities. Pairing new job skills training in the preservation trades along with re-training people from other fields has the potential to mobilize economic opportunities including the creation of new small businesses centered around these skills.  Enhancing traditional trades training opportunities–notably for youth and veterans–would allow people to acquire marketable knowledge, skills, and abilities that employers are seeking. Resulting jobs often are well-paid and secure.
• Environmental: A community benefits when historic buildings are restored or rehabilitated rather than demolished and disposed of in the community landfill.
• Educational: A community benefits through teaching local heritage and the understanding of the past and the resultant cultural respect by its citizens.
• Social: A community benefits when citizens take pride in its history and demonstrates mutual concern for the protection of the historic building fabric.

CONCLUSION

Traditional trades are critically important to preserving the heritage of our historic built environment for future generations. They also can translate into secure, well-paying jobs that help revitalize communities both physically and economically. Expanding training opportunities and networks in the traditional trades is essential. It is critical to do what we can to enable this important field to expand into pathways that are available to the workforce.

Resources:

https://www.achp.gov/initiatives/traditional-trades-training/programs-resources

https://www.preservationpriorities.org

Editor’s Note: This article was previously published in the November 2021 issue of “Historic Hawaiʻi News.”