Traditional Trades Advancement Program – Home of Franklin D Roosevelt and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Sites

Build your hands-on preservation trades skills at multiple significant historic sites through projects addressing a range of historic preservation needs. Over the course of a 26-week immersive experience, TTAP participants train and work alongside experienced NPS employees to preserve cultural resources and crucial infrastructure. This position is a great way to gain practical, hands-on experience and the foundation for a career in historic preservation. The projects at the Vanderbilt Mansion include carpentry including joinery and window fabrication, painting wood and plaster, and learning wood finishing techniques. At the Home of FDR, TTAP participants will restore windows, paint the interior, and reconstruct two staircases at the Stone House. The ideal candidate is excited about hands-on trades work and should be able to demonstrate or discuss their interest in the historic preservation field. TTAP Placements must be able to commit to a 26-week term. This position is scheduled for October 23, 2023 – April 19, 2024 (start date is flexible), with weekends and federal holidays off.

Skills Training & Support Provided:

• Carpentry, including joinery, window fabrication, reconstructing staircases, and dutchman repairs
• Window restoration
• Painting and other finishing techniques
• Layout and fabrication of staircase components
• General preservation maintenance

Position Benefits: 

• $1,440 bi-weekly living allowance (pre-tax)
• $650 Travel/commuting Allowance to/from project site (pre-tax)
• $1000 Funding for independent professional development
• Travel and associated expenses for Historic Preservation Fundamentals course
• Public Land Corps Hiring Authority (at position completion)
• OSHA 10 Certification
• Training and networking opportunities with NPS and preservation professionals
• On-site housing available (participant would pay $600/month) – Priviate room in shared house

Essential Qualifications:

• Interest in historic preservation trades and continuing into the trades field
• Age restrictions: 18 – 30 (or 35 for Veterans)
• Must be able to commit to the project for 26 weeks (start date flexible)
• Physical effort is heavy to moderate for this position and requires occasional lifting or handling of objects or materials up to 50lbs, unassisted, following proper lifting procedures to avoid injury. Frequently required to stand while working, climb ladders or scaffolding, and bend, stoop, climb, and work in awkward positions.
• Interest in using hand and power tools in an outdoor setting to complete projects
• Ability to commute to project site daily
• Follow all safety rules and regulations and participate in ongoing safety culture of the site.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to pass the DOI Background Check

Preferred Qualifications:

• Willingness to learn new skills
• Comfortable working at heights on scaffolding or ladders
• Local to Hyde Park, NY

All applicants must meet Minimum Qualifications to be considered for the position. Those who may not meet all the Preferred Qualifications are encouraged to apply! Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and the National Park Service partner will conduct interviews.

No experience in preservation trades required!

*For SCA’s COVID-19 guidance, please refer to www.thesca.org/covid  

The Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) provides hands-on, historic preservation trade skills training through an intensive learning-while-working experience at a National Park Service (NPS) site. TTAP aims to build the next generation of historic trades workers in order to continue the important work of preserving the historic resources and crucial infrastructure of national park sites. Carrying on the traditional trades in their modern form require much of the same materials, tools, ingenuity, skills, knowledge, and hard work that have been required for generations and cannot be replaced. By working alongside NPS staff on preservation projects, the intern will directly improve the physical conditions of a nationally significant park site that is accessed and enjoyed by thousands of visitors a year and contribute to the NPS mission. TTAP participants will benefit by gaining training in preservation trade skills, learning basic safety standards in a variety of work environments, and being introduced to general preservation principals and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.