Preserve Montana Trades Corps. Applications for this year’s Trades Corps are being accepted through March 30. Program and application details are available on our website. The program will run from June 1 to July 31. Attached is a flyer for marketing.
Preserving the Trades
The Corps trains young adults in traditional building trades, preparing them for careers in preservation carpentry and construction while restoring rural historic properties that might otherwise go unrepaired. As skilled historic tradespeople are disappearing at an alarming rate—entries into historic trades dropped 49% in 2021—contractors in Montana and nationwide increasingly struggle to find qualified preservation crews.
Empowering Youth
The Corps is for people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are interested in careers in the preservation trades, with a focus on building Montana’s network of skilled craftspeople. Members begin with training at the Baxendale Schoolhouse Preservation Center in Helena, then gain hands-on experience working alongside Preserve Montana’s skilled tradespeople on preservation projects statewide, including window restoration, masonry repointing, wood roofing and siding repair, log and timber work, and the rehabilitation of historic porches and other building elements.
Building Up Montana’s Rural Communities
Attracting skilled craftspeople to preserve historic properties in rural Montana has become increasingly difficult, while communities also seek to retain or bring back young people through meaningful employment. The Corps can help address both challenges. Preserve Montana has been a regional leader in rural preservation training since 2004, partnering with government agencies, nonprofits, and communities to train staff, volunteers, students, and tradespeople in traditional building trades while completing complex preservation projects.