REBUILDING COMMUNITIES PROGRAMME / BUILDING CRAFTS APPRENTICES
The Prince's Rebuilding Communities Programme
The Prince's Rebuilding Communities Programme is a nine-month programme of applied study which offers building craftsmen the opportunity to enhance and advance their design knowledge and experience in traditional and sustainable building crafts.
This programme provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to gain experience in traditional and sustainable building crafts.
"When I travel around the country meeting people from every sort of background, it is rare that I find skilled craftsmen or women who are unhappy in their work. They usually derive a real sense of satisfaction and, above all, pride from what they do."
-HRH The Prince of Wales, speaking at SkillCity, Manchester, England, November 2002
The Prince's Rebuilding Communities Programme offers talented, enthusiastic and committed trades-people the opportunity to enhance their vocational skills with the design knowledge, work experience and coaching necessary to succeed in a career in the traditional building sector.
The programme seeks for building craftsmen who want to bridge the gap between basic qualifications and master craftsman status. Successful applicants will be rewarded with a six-month programme of courses and work placements, during which they will be given the opportunity to develop their craftsmanship and use their skills in a broad, holistic building context alongside other building professionals. Crafts will include stone masonry, timber, stained glass, ornamental iron and millwork, plasterwork, lime mortar and paint.
The programme comprises an intensive, three-week Summer School, which incorporates involvement in a week-long Enquiry by Design exercise and Introduction to the Built Environment, Workshops on Materials and Planning for the Built Environment; a short course on small-business skills, including entrepreneurship and the legal requirements of an employer; four months of work placements with master craftspeople on traditional new building schemes and conservation projects in New Orleans and one month of similar work in the United Kingdom.
Who Can Apply?
Applications are welcomed from craftspeople who have studied any of a wide variety of building skills. Applicants must have attained either a high school diploma or equivalent and are encouraged but not limited to enrollment in Delgado Community College-Louisiana Technical College, an active member in one of the following labor unions, or are a current, permanent resident of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward.
Successful applicants will receive a monthly stipend for the duration of the programme, which his intended to cover the costs of all accommodation, travel and subsistence.
How To Apply?
- Click the Apply Now link below.
- Save and complete the PDF application form and send it to us via email. The application is an easy-to-use interactive PDF, where all you have to do is fill-in the form fields. PDF application must be opened in Adobe Acrobat. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat, you can download Acrobat Reader for free here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/
- Print the form and send it to the address below, together with the other requested documents.
You will need to send the following information:
- A printed copy of the completed application form from the web site.
- A recent passport-sized photograph of yourself.
- The name and contact information of a reference who should be your teacher or employer.
- Copies of all relevant academic or professional certificates (please do not send originals).
Make a note of the date you sent your application.
Send completed applications to:
The Prince's Rebuilding Communities Programme
c/o Preservation Resource Center
923 Tchoupitoulas St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
For more information, please call (504) 636-3047.