[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71082-71085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24645]


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ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION


Notice of Adoption of Policy Statement on Promotion and Value of 
Traditional Trades Training

AGENCY: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

ACTION: Notice of adoption of policy statement on promotion and value 
of traditional trades training.

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SUMMARY: The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has adopted 
Policy Statement on Promotion and Value of Traditional Trades Training.

DATES: The policy statement was adopted on October 19, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Address any questions concerning the policy statement to 
Druscilla J. Null, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 401 F 
Street NW, Suite 308, Washington, DC 20001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Druscilla J. Null, (202) 517-1487, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation (ACHP), an independent federal agency created by the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), works to promote the 
preservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of our nation's diverse 
historic resources, and advises the President and the Congress on 
national historic preservation policy.
    One of the ACHP's statutory duties under the NHPA is to encourage 
training and education in the field of historic preservation. In 
keeping with that mandate, at its November 7, 2019, business meeting, 
the ACHP initiated discussions regarding traditional trades training. 
America is suffering from a shortage of skilled workers in the 
specialized traditional trades often required for historic preservation 
projects. Expanding opportunities for traditional trades training would 
be an important step in addressing this problem. Doing so is critical 
to the maintenance of our nation's historic places and to filling jobs 
that will help revitalize communities both physically and economically.
    At its March 13, 2020, business meeting, the ACHP further explored 
traditional trades training and discussed the possibility of creating a 
task force to address the issue. The idea of developing a policy 
statement on the topic also was discussed. On May 28, 2020, ACHP 
Chairman Aimee Jorjani announced the creation of the ACHP Traditional 
Trades Training Task Force (Task Force). One of its stated goals was to 
develop recommendations for federal action that could be embodied in a 
formal ACHP policy statement.
    The Task Force includes representatives of several federal agencies 
and individuals with historic preservation, education, and architecture 
expertise. In addition to ACHP Chairman Jorjani and ACHP Vice Chairman 
Rick Gonzalez, the following agencies and organizations are represented 
on the Task Force: The Department of the Interior; Department of 
Education; National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center; 
National Park Service Western Center for Historic Preservation; 
National Center for Preservation Technology and Training; National 
Endowment for the Arts; National Trust for Historic Preservation; 
Preservation Maryland; Savannah Technical College; and Turner 
Restoration of Detroit.
    Based on Task Force meeting discussions throughout the summer and 
fall, ACHP staff developed a draft policy statement that was reviewed 
by the Task Force. Based upon input on the outline, a draft of the 
policy statement was developed and provided to both the Task Force and 
the ACHP's standing Preservation Initiatives Committee for review. 
Following further refinement, the draft policy statement was sent to 
the full ACHP membership for review. The final version of the policy 
statement was adopted by vote of the ACHP members on October 19, 2020.
    The ACHP Policy Statement on Promotion and Value of Traditional 
Trades Training discusses the need for and the benefits of expanded 
traditional trades training; suggests key principles that should guide 
federal, state, and local workforce development and training efforts; 
and offers recommendations for action.

Text of the Policy Statement on Promotion and Value of Traditional 
Trades Training

    What follows is the text of the adopted policy statement:

ACHP Policy Statement on Promotion and Value of Traditional Trades 
Training

    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. More recognizable opportunities for 
workforce development and training in the traditional trades not only 
would help address this problem critical to the maintenance of our 
nation's historic places, but also would contribute to economic 
recovery and wellbeing through career pathways that benefit local 
communities.
    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 National Trust for Historic 
Preservation addressed the issue in its 1968 Whitehill Report on 
Professional and Public Education for Historic Preservation and 
revisited it almost 40 years later in a 2005 issue of its Forum Journal 
titled ``Building Trades Education in the 21st Century.'' The National 
Park Service (NPS) also addressed the importance of traditional trades 
training in a 1997 issue of its publication Cultural Resource 
Management titled ``Preservation Trades and Crafts: Working in 
Preservation and Fostering the Trades.'' In the years since these 
publications were issued, with an aging workforce and building stock, 
the need to increase the number of skilled craftspeople has only become 
more acute.
    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

[[Page 71083]]

training in America will require broadening federal engagement.
    The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), an 
independent federal agency created by the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA), works to promote the preservation, 
enhancement, and sustainable use of our nation's diverse historic 
resources, and advises the President and the Congress on national 
historic preservation policy. One of the ACHP's stated duties in the 
NHPA is to encourage training and education in the field of historic 
preservation. In this policy statement, the ACHP discusses the need for 
and the benefits of expanded traditional trades training; suggests key 
principles that should guide federal, state, and local workforce 
development and training efforts; and offers recommendations for 
action.

Scope of Need and Potential Benefits of Expanded Training

    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. 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.
    The relative scarcity of skilled workers in the traditional trades 
is brought into sharp relief in the wake of natural disasters. After 
addressing immediate emergency issues, full rehabilitation of damaged 
historic buildings is often delayed or compromised because of a lack of 
craftspeople who have expertise working with historic building 
materials.
    Despite this shortage, various public policies promote historic 
preservation projects that require skilled traditional trades 
craftspeople. For instance, the Great American Outdoors Act signed into 
law in 2020 will provide up to $9.5 billion in funding for deferred 
maintenance within NPS and at other federal facilities. Historic 
buildings make up about 46 percent of the NPS deferred maintenance 
backlog, and their repair will boost the demand for skilled workers in 
the traditional trades. Another relevant policy example is 
incentivizing preservation through tax credits. The federal Historic 
Tax Credit for rehabilitation of income-producing historic properties 
and similar historic tax credits in 37 states require that projects 
meet quality standards (generally the Secretary of the Interior's 
Standards for Rehabilitation). Meeting such standards often requires 
work by craftspeople trained in the traditional trades.
    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. 
Expanded traditional trades training also would bolster local 
economies, helping to fill vacant jobs. 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. 
Median wages in construction have been outpacing the national median 
wage, according to the National Association of Home Builders. 
Additionally, the current shortage of traditional trades workers 
coupled with projected continued demand will provide new entrants into 
those trades with considerable job security.

Framework for Expanding Traditional Trades Training

    The effectiveness of efforts to expand training opportunities in 
the traditional trades will be maximized if grounded upon the following 
key concepts.

--Training opportunities in the traditional trades should be widely 
available. There should be national and regional traditional trades 
training opportunities with a variety of options and pathways of 
different durations (immersion, apprenticeships, degree programs) and 
educational levels (high school, vocational school, community college, 
college) in order to maximize the number of new workers entering the 
field. Tradespeople already working in related fields also should have 
opportunities to add traditional trades expertise to their skill set. 
Likewise, craftspeople already in the traditional trades would benefit 
from continuing education opportunities.
--Importance of open-source training curriculum. Each traditional 
trades training program currently has to create its own curriculum. 
This problem of reinventing the wheel would be minimized if open-source 
curriculum options were available. Standardized programs of study that 
could be tailored to unique local needs would ease creation of training 
programs, make them more sustainable, and encourage the growth of a 
community of instructors in such programs.
--Apprenticeship programs are essential. By its very nature, 
traditional trades training requires hands-on instruction and 
mentoring. Apprenticeships provide that gateway for entry-level 
students to learn from experienced craftspeople. They can alleviate the 
burden of student loans. Apprenticeships also are a key way of matching 
students with the companies that need their services for direct job 
placement.
--Importance of industry-recognized credentials and/or qualification 
standards. Currently, there are no third-party credentialing 
organizations bestowing credentials for the traditional trades and no 
specific qualification standards that must be met in order to claim 
proficiency. Such formal recognition verifies a person's competence in 
their chosen skill, is sought after by employers, and would be 
advantageous for traditional trades craftspeople seeking to document 
their expertise. Credentialing would be a significant step toward 
enhancing the stature of traditional trades craftspeople relative to 
the other professionals (architectural historians, architects, 
engineers, etc.) who collaborate to restore and rehabilitate historic 
properties.

Recommendations for Federal Action

    The federal government can play an important role in promoting 
traditional trades training and workforce development. The following 
recommendations address both use of existing federal programs and 
consideration of new policies and programs.

--Integrate traditional trades into existing Department of Labor (DOL) 
apprenticeship programs. DOL oversees the National Apprenticeship 
Program, a system of registered apprenticeships implemented by DOL and 
state apprenticeship agencies that in 2020 was supplemented with a new 
model of industry-recognized apprenticeships. There are significant 
untapped opportunities to accommodate and encourage traditional trades 
apprenticeships in this national apprenticeship framework. DOL should 
include traditional trades in its Occupational Information Network 
Program and the

[[Page 71084]]

Standard Occupational Classification Codes upon which that program is 
based.
--Encourage states to use existing Department of Education (ED) career 
and technical education funding for traditional trades training in 
state Perkins plans. Under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act, ED awards more than $1 billion a year in state formula 
grants and competitive discretionary grants for the improvement of 
career and technical education programs across the nation. While 
decisions about how the money is spent rests at the state and local 
level, there is ED oversight of state plans and implementation. In that 
context, ED should pursue opportunities to advise states on the 
potential benefits of traditional trades training in meeting the labor 
market need for such craftspeople.
--Encourage recipients of existing Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD) funding to address traditional trades training when 
meeting workforce development requirements. Under Section 3 of the 
Housing and Urban Development Act, recipients of certain HUD financial 
assistance must, to the greatest extent feasible, provide job training, 
employment, and contracting opportunities for low- or very-low income 
residents in connection with projects and activities in their 
neighborhoods. To meet Section 3 requirements, HUD grantees and their 
contractors sometimes run or participate in training and apprenticeship 
programs that prepare community residents for jobs. HUD should pursue 
opportunities to encourage addressing the traditional trades, 
particularly for projects involving historic properties and the 
rehabilitation of affordable housing.
--Consider options for federal support in development of open-source 
traditional trades training curriculum. NPS's Historic Preservation 
Training Center, Western Center for Historic Preservation, and National 
Center for Preservation Technology and Training are logical focal 
points for a federal response to the need for traditional trades 
training curriculum, with development work either being done in-house 
or through contracts. As a first step, there should be a review of 
existing programs and curriculum to serve as a baseline for next steps 
in curriculum development. Once curriculum is developed, federal 
support might also assist in ``training the trainers'' to help 
institutions and individuals become familiar with the curriculum.
--Develop federal qualification standards for the traditional trades. 
As directed by the NHPA, the Secretary of the Interior has developed 
advisory Historic Preservation Professional Qualification Standards 
(Qualification Standards). The intent is to assist federal agencies in 
ensuring that the employees and contractors responsible for 
preservation of federally managed historic properties have the 
knowledge, skills, and abilities to do so effectively. Published in 
1983, the Qualification Standards focus on the academic disciplines of 
history, archaeology, architectural history, architecture, and historic 
architecture, as identified in the NHPA. Left unaddressed is the 
competency of the craftspeople in the traditional trades performing the 
work of applying the preservation treatments. NPS should include the 
traditional trades in any future revision of the Secretary's 
Qualification Standards or should explore development of a parallel set 
of standards that could be used to assess and document proficiency in 
the traditional trades.
--Include traditional trades training in implementation of the Great 
American Outdoors Act. The passage of the Great American Outdoors Act 
is anticipated to create a significant demand for skilled workers in 
the traditional trades to address deferred maintenance at properties 
managed by NPS (principally) and also the USDA Forest Service, Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian 
Education. Using a small portion of the billions of dollars that will 
become available under the law for traditional trades training would be 
a strategic investment to address an immediate need as well as a way of 
having a lasting positive impact on the current shortage of traditional 
trades craftspeople.
--Promote traditional trades training in the work of conservation 
corps. Used by federal agencies, Indian tribes, states, and local 
communities, conservation corps engage young adults and veterans in 
service projects addressing recreation, conservation, disaster 
response, and other needs. While many corps focus principally on 
natural resources, conservation corps also assist in the preservation 
of historic properties, with a few focusing solely on historic 
preservation projects. Such projects offer important opportunities to 
introduce corps members to the traditional trades and provide training. 
Federal land-managing agencies should set an example by maximizing use 
of conservation corps to address historic preservation needs on public 
lands.
--Explore use of COVID-19 recovery/stimulus funding to create jobs and 
job training in the traditional trades. Much of COVID-19 recovery 
funding to date has focused on direct aid for individuals, businesses, 
organizations, and institutions (including museums and non-profits), 
and funding for agencies to directly respond to the pandemic. If future 
legislation is passed that addresses economic recovery from COVID-19 
more broadly, there may be opportunities to support traditional trades 
training as part of enhanced funding for existing programs or creation 
of new programs. For instance, any new or augmented programs to create 
affordable housing might incorporate job training for local residents 
in the rehabilitation of existing older housing stock. New programs 
might build--both literally and figuratively--upon the example of 
Depression-era public works programs. Buildings and structures created 
by the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps 
are now historic properties, and a program to train youth in restoring 
those properties would be one economic stimulus program restoring the 
work of another.
--Utilize the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) for traditional trades 
training grants, as authorized by the NHPA. The NHPA authorizes the 
Department of the Interior (DOI) to administer a grants program for 
``the training and development of skilled labor in trades and crafts, 
and in analysis and curation, relating to historic preservation'' (54 
U.S.C. 302904). The funding source is the HPF. This skilled labor 
component of the HPF remains to be funded. DOI should seek funding to 
support this grants program in future fiscal year budget requests.
--Explore development of sustainable, dedicated funding that would be a 
continuing source of revenue for traditional trades training. While 
funding from the HPF for traditional trades training already is 
authorized and would help in combatting the current shortage of 
craftspeople, there are other important programs competing for HPF 
dollars. Creation of dedicated, sustainable sources of funding 
specifically for traditional

[[Page 71085]]

trades training would be a significant step forward. Such funding 
should be established not only at the federal level but also through 
state and local government action. The shape that such funding might 
take and the ways in which the federal government might support it 
merit further development and consideration. The ACHP should promote a 
dialogue on the issue with key partners, including DOI, the National 
Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, the National 
Association of State Workforce Agencies, Certified Local Governments, 
the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, and the National 
Trust for Historic Preservation.

    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 American worker.
    Wide ranging in lines of expertise, it is the skilled craftworker 
who is making preservation happen through hands-on and on-site work. 
The connection to preservation is the central theme that brings many 
different skill sets together. It is the contract worker, the stone 
mason, the woodcrafter, the conservator, the trade union member, the 
craft guild member, maintenance crews, and building managers--all 
preserving on a daily basis.
    Placing trust with the decision making on the qualified 
tradesperson or providing the opportunity to share the responsibility 
at the preservation job site with both the preservation professional 
and the skilled tradesperson empowers this field. By broadening this 
vision of the preservation expert--the skilled craftworker--the ACHP 
has adopted this policy statement to encourage and help guide efforts 
and partnerships to address this urgent need while offering rewarding 
careers and professional fulfillment.

    Authority: 54 U.S.C. 304102.

    Dated: November 2, 2020.
Javier Marqu[eacute]s,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-24645 Filed 11-5-20; 8:45 am]
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