The HELM Hub:
Courses, Circles, Meetups & more

Want to sharpen your skills? Up your leadership game? Connect with like-minded professionals? It's all here at HELM: Comprehensive professional classes, peer-to-peer circles, all-are-welcome social events and more. To stay current on our many offerings, sign up here.

Up next

Courses

Our courses are a practical and efficient way to get great skills in a wide range of areas, from business and project management to leadership development and workplace culture. You'll gain new perspective, practical competence, and leave with HELM-developed tools and templates to optimize your processes. Our courses are also a great way to connect with others in the industry and build your community!

  • Tuesdays, 3:00-5:00pm EST
    12 weeks beginning February 4, 2025

    An online course that covers all the essentials of running a construction business. With a focus on the Triple Bottom Line (People, Planet, and Prosperity), our facilitators help business owners assess where their company is today, create a vision for the future, and take action to make their business more efficient, productive, and profitable. Ideal for small business owners and members of the management team who are looking for a solid grounding in the basics of running a successful construction business.

    Details and registration

  • Tuesdays, 3:00-4:30pm EST
    7 weeks beginning May 6, 2025

    A deep dive into the fundamentals of good pre-construction and project management practices, including essential pre-construction tasks, estimating, scheduling, and project management. The course includes hands-on exercises, tools, and templates to support emerging project managers and estimators. Ideal for project managers and estimators who are new to their role or are looking to improve their internal systems.

    Details and registration

  • Tuesdays 3:00-4:30 EST
    4 weeks beginning September 9, 2025

    Designed to help current and aspiring leads build their management and leadership skills, in this course we'll explore what it means to be a lead carpenter and how to manage a project for success — including on-site and team management skills, creating effective documentation, and maintaining clear communication with the construction team and project owner. We’ll also provide a portfolio of sample documents and templates to support your process.

    Details and registration

  • Tuesdays, 3:00-4:30pm EST
    4 weeks beginning October 7, 2025

    A comprehensive introduction to the methodology and techniques of estimating for residential construction. You'll learn how to organize your estimating process with CSI divisions and code costs; generate an initial ballpark/Schematic Design (SD) budget range; use HELM’s own comprehensive estimating tool; and create a Design Development (DD) and/or Construction Drawing (CD) estimate. Sample estimating documents and deliverables that are the standard in this industry will be shared. Ideal for people working in the residential construction industry who currently engaged in project estimating or would like to start.

    Details and registration

  • Wednesdays, 3:00-4:30pm EST
    4 weeks beginning January 8 2025

    A comprehensive introduction to the methodology and techniques of scheduling with Gantt charts for residential construction. You'll learn how to build schedules using predecessor relationships, and establish a critical path where the whole schedule moves together.

    We'll look at pre-construction and construction schedules for individual projects, production overview schedules that track leads and current work, and unique overviews such as trade partner schedules across all company projects. We will discuss how and when to share schedules with your clients and teams. Ideals for owners, project managers, and site supervisors working in the residential construction industry.

    Details and registration

Circles

We sponsor peer-to-peer Circles for many different communities within the building profession. They're a great opportunity to share experiences and build connections — and gain the kind of rubber-meets-the-road insights only a trusted group of colleagues can provide.

  • 6 sessions
    April-August 2025
    By invitation only

    Join us for a six-part series on leadership within the construction and design industry. This group coaching circle provides a supportive space for building community and leadership skills. Through the creation of a recurring, semi-facilitated, peer learning environment, strategically support a diverse group of existing and emerging leaders of mission-driven HELM companies. By prioritizing space for these leaders’ development and growth, directly increase the impact of their role and the success of their businesses.

    Details and registration

  • 6 sessions
    January-June 2025
    By invitation only

    The Owners' Circle is designed to help small businesses prepare to grow and move to the next level. The cohort design is focused on building community with peers from similar business types, and providing structure and accountability.

    Details and registration

  • 6 sessions
    January-June 2025
    For graduates of Fundamentals of Pre-Construction and Project Management

    Join us for a monthly meeting about the role, tools, and best practices for Project Managers.

    Details and registration

Meetups

Casual, fun and free meetups for women, trans, & non-binary folks in construction and the trades. Join us to connect, share experiences, and build a supportive community in a safe space. Meetups happen about monthly in Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine. Feel free to bring a friend or colleague — the more the merrier!

We are always scheduling new meetups — check back often. To get notified about upcoming meetups in your area, sign up here.

Currently scheduled

January 29 (5:30-7:30): Maine Beer Company, Freeport, ME

February 19 (5:00-7:00): New Frameworks and Lewis Creek Builders, Essex, VT

March 18 (5:00-6:30): Vermonter Virtual Meetup (link coming soon!)

April 23 (5:00-7:00): Mathes Hulme Builders, Brattleboro, VT

May (5:00-6:30): Vermonter Virtual Meetup (date and link coming soon!)

June 24 (5:00-7:00): Yestermorrow Design/Build School, Waitsfield, VT