New marine systems training facility set to open
BRISTOL, R.I. — The International Yacht Restoration School’s new Marine Systems Training Facility is scheduled to open March 28, representing “the culmination of an idea to bring the marine trades and related educational programs together,” according to Andy Tyska, developer of the Franklin Street Marine Corridor that will house the facility.
Tyska was quoted in an IYRS release announcing an official opening for the training facility, which will be held March 28 from 9 a.m. to noon. Activities will include a seminar for students and prospective marine industry workers covering “Funding Sources for Training,” the official opening at 10, and a second seminar, “Career Paths in the Marine Industry,” at 10:30. The event is free and open to the public.
The Franklin Street Marine Corridor includes six buildings, outside storage space for boats being worked on by the park tenants and a new area across Franklin Street for future development. In addition, IYRS says a boat transportation corridor is also being planned to unite the site, just a half mile from Bristol Harbor, to waterfront access at Bristol Marine. The site started with storage and repair facilities for Bristol Marine, and the industrial park grew over ten years to include new buildings that have housed twenty businesses responsible for 160 jobs, according to IYRS.
“The new model for a combined industrial/educational park is, to my knowledge, unique in the marine business,” Paul Harden of R.I. Economic Development Corp. said in the release. “It offers students the opportunity to see, first hand, marine businesses at work and get into the workforce faster. For the businesses involved, there’s a pool of talent being trained next door and they have an opportunity to affect the type of training that’s provided.”
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