Program looks to boost number of skilled tradespeople

TROY, N.Y. » Hudson Valley Community College’s Workforce Development Institute, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and Historic Albany Foundation recently announced they will once again join forces to offer a series of hands-on courses aimed at increasing the number of people skilled in the historic building trades.

With New York State’s historic towns and cities experiencing an influx of renovation, revitalization and adaptive re-use, there is real need for skilled tradespeople who are professionally trained in these traditional trades, a news release said.

The fall semester course for the 2018-19 academic year in the Traditional Trades program is “Historic Wood Window Rehabilitation,” which will train individuals in the discipline of wood sash rehabilitation through hands-on workshops, lectures and field trips.

Officials said the course is aimed at those interested in or already working in the building trades.

The release said that craftspeople trained in the preservation trades are in extremely high demand, often earning far more than the average home and commercial contractor. The Traditional Trades program seeks to enhance training in these lost building arts and to help craftspeople find a path forward into this expanding market.

Nationwide, there are approximately 15 preservation trades programs at the community college level that train participants in the many facets of historic preservation. This is the first such program offered at a community college in New York State and it may serve as a pilot for similar programs across the state.

“The New York State Division for Historic Preservation identified the critical need for buildings contractors who were skilled in the historic building trades during the preparation of our 2015-20 NYS Historic Preservation Plan. We heard from countless communities across the state that, while they embrace the rich history and historic character of their neighborhoods, finding contractors with the necessary training to repair older buildings was extremely difficult,” said Rose Harvey in a news release, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “By enhancing the skills of craftspeople in the traditional trades, our goal is to fill this demand in the marketplace by assisting to create quality construction jobs that provide a much need service to the next generation of historic building stewards.”

The Historic Wood Window Rehabilitation class will take place from Sept. 4 to Oct. 23 with classroom instruction 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, and workshops from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The class is available through Hud-

son Valley’s Workforce Development Institute. Students are encouraged to register at www.hvcc.edu/ wdi, call (518) 629-7338 or email workforce@hvcc.edu.

Location of the class is Peebles Island State Park, 1 Delaware Ave., Waterford, NY. The instructor will be Chris Templin, of Rosch Brothers Construction with assistant instructor Lisa Crompton, former Technical Services Coordinator at Historic Albany Foundation.

Students who are interested in taking the Historic Wood Window Rehabilitation course must complete an 8-hour EPA Lead Safe class before attending the course, which will be offered free to those who are enrolled in the window course.

Certificates of completion for the Traditional Trades courses are awarded by the Workforce Development Institute and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which is New York’s federally designated State Historic Preservation Office.