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Training Services

We offer three-day to two-week 'Old School Workshops' in addition to curriculum and training program design for organizations wishing to build workforce capacity.  'Old School Workshops' are customizable to your needs and range from hands-on trades to preservation planning to preservation decision-making skills. 

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Why?

Improve Employee Retention

A 2019 study showed that 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn. We show that we value our employees when we invest in their future. 

Save Money

Applying best practices in modern construction to a historic structure can result in irreversible damage, legal ramifications, and costly repair work to reverse the improper technique or material.  Modern construction workers are often highly skilled and simply need training in preservation best practices and the preservation ethic.

Empower the Field Worker

Preservation battles are won and lost every day in the hands of maintenance workers who are on the frontline of historic structures treatments. Though these frontline workers often know the building better than the rest of the design team, they are often dismissed from treatment decision making because they lack the technical preservation terminology.  We teach preservation terminology alongside of trade skills to reclaim a seat at the decision-making table.

Mind the Gap

Traditional craftspeople are retiring from the workforce at an alarming rate and are not being backfilled by the younger generations, creating an unprecedented preservation skills gap. Implementing a successful preservation project is dependent upon having a workforce with the specialized traditional trades skillset.

Go 'Beyond Hands-on'

Trades training often only teaches the skillset, leaving out the mindset (knowledge) and heartset (caring).  We teach to the whole learner, employing the ‘Beyond Hands-on’ learning model, which improves learner outcomes by engaging the hands, heads, and hearts.  We use an outdoor, learner-first classroom where learners can experiment, play, reflect, and think critically to ‘own their learning,’ which results in an increased ability to apply new skills on the jobsite.  

Old School Workshops

Example Workshop Topics

Historic Wood Window Repair

Historic Masonry Repair

Preservation 101

Condition Assessment and Diagnostics

Project Planning and Development

Log and Wood Repair

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