Cultural heritage, embodied in our historic built environment, represents a tangible link to our past. Historic buildings reflect architectural styles, and craftsmanship of a different era, fostering a sense of identity and continuity in communities. Additionally, they contribute to sustainability by reducing the environmental impact of new construction and often enhance local tourism and economic development. Saving historic buildings helps maintain the character and diversity of cities and towns. However, many times due to lack of knowledge, skill, or in the name of development these valuable places are lost. Preservation trades, encompassing numerous specialized skills and techniques, are crucial to maintaining and conserving these precious places. To ensure the sustainable stewardship of our architectural heritages the need for trained professionals proficient in preservation trades becomes ever more critical .The short supply of trained professionals is being felt by both contractors and homeowners nationwide. According to a 2023 survey by the Associated General Contractors of America,  88% of firms with openings report having a hard time filling craft positions and of those who applied 68% were not qualified for the role.

While there certainly are fantastic existing programs for this specialized preservation trades training, often a deterrent to program participation is a lack of awareness of the existing opportunities. As stated in the 2021 Preservation Priorities Task Force’s Preservation Trades Issue Brief,  “many potential students may not be aware of training opportunities” and “training opportunities are not evenly distributed geographically." Additionally, the 2022 Status of Historic Trades in America study conducted by Place Economics concluded that their findings established  "a quantitative basis of support for a significant growth in heritage trades training programs." By creating more regional training opportunities and demonstrating the rewards of entering this field, we can generate new interest and begin to fill the gap in the existing preservation trades training landscape, ultimately putting more people to work in the traditional trades. 

The Preservation Trades Program Creation Guide is a roadmap providing a comprehensive and flexible roadmap to address the urgent need for skilled workers in the conservation of historic buildings. It outlines ways to engage participants, offering suggestions for linking local youth serving programs and other potential audiences to this fulfilling and secure career path. It contains a flexible curriculum and practical strategies for program implementation, providing a strong foundation for developing regional programs. Lastly, through the practical suggestions for building a budget, securing insurance, and acquiring funding, it takes some of the burden off of these often onerous tasks. 

By bridging the gap between the demand for preservation skills and the availability of trained professionals, the guide equips communities to actively preserve and protect their historic buildings and invaluable cultural heritage. It creates pathways for economic development and career opportunities, while also ensuring that historic buildings can be preserved for future generations.  The hope is that the this guide is a compelling and useful tool for fostering a skilled workforce locally, safeguarding architectural connections to the past in your community and in communities across the nation.