Historic Preservation Training Center

12/17/2025

🛠️ We're Hiring! 🛠️​
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The National Park Service is looking for seasonal Maintenance Workers and Maintenance Mechanics. Join HPTC and help preserve America’s treasures!​
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Maintenance Workers​
✔️ Carpentry, wood crafting, masonry, painting​
✔️ Stabilize & restore historic wooden structures​
✔️ Research historic records for preservation planning​
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Maintenance Mechanics​
✔️ Reconstruct & rehabilitate wood structures​
✔️ Paint historic surfaces with color-matching techniques​
✔️ Masonry work on historic sites​
✔️ Inspect and assess preservation needs​
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⏰ Each position is open to the first 150 applicants or until next Monday, Dec 22—whichever comes first​
📍 Multiple locations nationwide​

Apply today!
🔗 Maintenance Worker (seasonal): usajobs.gov/job/852216700
🔗 Maintenance Mechanic (seasonal): usajobs.gov/job/852217900
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11/25/2025

As he prepared to leave the United States Air Force, Cameron Donk knew one thing for sure—he didn’t want to sit behind a desk anymore.

Leaving behind his computer and role as Imagery Analyst, his search for an exciting, hands-on opportunity led him to our Masonry Team through the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge Program. What he found wasn’t just a new trade, but another way to continue serving his country.

Learn more about HPTC’s SkillBridge Program: nps.gov/orgs/1098/skillbridge-program-at-hptc.htm

Image: HPTC employee Mark Bragunier and SkillBridge participant Cameron Donk perform structural repair work at the Want Water Ruins near Harmony Hall (National Capital Parks- East).
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09/09/2025

Are you a seasoned trades expert (age 55+) looking for your next adventure in life? Well, this is it—we’ll take you to national parks all across the country, where every project you touch will help preserve our natural and cultural treasures.
 
As a Facilities Operation and Maintenance Crew Lead, you’ll:
• Manage preservation projects
• Be a mentor to youth
• Travel and collaborate with national parks

We have opportunities at 13 different hubs around the country—pick one near you or explore somewhere new!

This position is part of the Experienced Services Program (ESP) in partnership with . Click the link in our bio to learn more and apply!
 
                 
 
Photo: ESP enrollee Bill Thompson shows the coconut frond basket he learned to make from the Cabato family.

08/26/2025

Happy to be a part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival!

08/25/2025

Happy birthday to the NPS! We met up with our preservation crew at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where our constitution was written.

08/13/2025

Are you passionate about our national parks? We’re looking for experienced professionals (ages 55+) with skills in masonry, woodworking, or other trade crafts to join our team through the Experienced Services Program (ESP) with National Experienced Workforce Solutions.

As a Facilities Operation and Maintenance Crew Lead, you’ll:
• Manage preservation projects from start to finish
• Mentor youth interns in the field
• Travel and collaborate with park units around the country

Locations aren’t just limited to our headquarters in Frederick, MD—we’ve got hubs in all regions of the country. Your expertise in project management and construction will help preserve our national treasures for future generations to enjoy.

Ready to make a difference? Learn more about this opportunity at https://newsolutions.org/jobs/position-details/?position_id=9040

08/02/2025

🪟Historic Window Workshop 🪟

Join us for a two-day hands-on training workshop focused on the repair and preservation of historic wood windows. This workshop is ideal for homeowners, preservation professionals, contractors, or anyone interested in learning traditional restoration techniques.

Held at Vintage Window Restoration in Albany, Oregon, this intensive course will guide participants through the full process of assessing, deglazing, repairing, and repainting historic window sashes.

Learn more + register here: https://learn.historictrades.org/products/historic-window-repair-workshop-at-vintage-window-restoration

07/24/2025

Happy trails!

We love hiking a good trail in a national park, and we have our trail crews to thank for that. These heroes are hard at work behind the scenes all year, making sure your favorite trails are safe for visitors.

What’s it like working on the trails? Follow along with Kyle Miraz as he takes us out with his trail crew in Joshua Tree National Park. It’s not an easy job, but Kyle does it for the people. His hope? That everyone can enjoy a genuine experience in the wilderness of our parks—and that’s what the National Park Service mission is all about.

 

Video: In Joshua Tree National Park, California, an NPS employee shares a day in the life of a trail worker and why he loves what he does.

06/12/2025

04/30/2025

04/30/2025

03/31/2025

A major rehabilitation project has been completed at the César E. Chávez National Monument in Keene, California. The project, supported by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), the National Park Foundation, and the hands-on work of park staff, the Historic Preservation Training Center's Maintenance Action Teams, and FIELD’s César Chávez Environmental Corps, included repairing and painting historic stucco surfaces, cleaning and retiling the Paseo Fountain, painting and recarpeting the visitor center theater, rehabilitating park landscapes, and improving trail drainage and irrigation systems.

The César E. Chávez National Monument commemorates the life and work of César E. Chávez, a civil rights activist who fought for the rights of farmworkers. The monument, established in 2012, is located within La Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz (La Paz) National Historic Landmark, which served as the headquarters of the United Farm Workers starting in the early 1970s. Learn more at: https://www.nps.gov/cech

Image: Workers restoring Martyr's fountain in the Memorial Garden, removing 20 years of built-up calcium deposits.