Tag Archives: The Workforce Crisis

Four new schools have enrolled in the American Boat & Yacht Council’s “Fundamentals of Marine Service Technology” curriculum program during the month of September. The program was built to help secondary and post-secondary schools easily implement standards based marine service curriculum, with an inland or coastal focus. Additionally, a nationally recognized competency certificate is available for program completers who successfully ...

Warner University’s Institute of Marine Technology has announced plans for a national Marine Industry Training Conference, slated for June 14, 2018, at the Warner University campus in Lake Wales, Fla. Designed to bring together a broad mix of industry representatives ranging from OEMs to aftermarket manufacturers, marine retailers, marina operators, industry associations and other interested parties, the training symposium will ...

Labor shortages, especially in service and manufacturing, are hampering industry growth Listen to political speeches or check out the news and you’d get the idea that there isn’t a job – especially a good paying blue-collar job – to be found in this country. Statements like “What will it take to bring back domestic manufacturing jobs?” or “Why Trump will struggle ...

While many government training programs have been less than successful, the government can help address the workforce shortages by advocating for and utilizing funding – specifically on the state and local level. The Rhode Island Marine Trades Association offers a pre-apprenticeship program, funded by Real Jobs Rhode Island, to help provide Rhode Island residents 18 and over earn skills needed ...

One challenge the industry faces is a lack of awareness of the open jobs in marine trades and the lifelong careers they build. Marine trades associations can introduce young people to the boating industry through a variety of educational programs.  The Rhode Island Marine Trades Association offers a summer marketing internship and a youth summer boatbuilding program to reach these ...

As four-year university programs have become the main – if not the sole – focus for high school students’ post-secondary path, marine industry companies are putting themselves in front of those students to introduce them to the opportunities in technical careers. SeaDek partners with the Melbourne High Business Academy to expose the academy’s students to local manufacturing opportunities. High school ...

Dealers and manufacturers have implemented apprenticeship programs to address their workforce shortages. These programs often take an employee who has a technical background – in marine trades or otherwise – and trains them on the job with a mentor.  At Russell Marine in Lake Martin, Ala., the apprentices start their six-month trial period at the dealership’s rigging facility, as rigging ...

Marine trades schools offer students the opportunity to learn specifically about the boating industry and its intricacies at the high school and post-secondary level. While these students may require additional training beyond their education, the base provided by these schools is invaluable. The Landing School is a community college in Arundel, Maine, that offers four one-year diploma programs in wooden ...

Developing a workforce doesn’t stop once all the jobs are filled. Ensuring employees stay in the industry long term is as vital a piece to the workforce shortage puzzle as getting employees hired.  Keeping good employees is significantly easier if they have a career path, and training shows that the company is investing in that career path. Engine manufacturers are ...