With the boating industry’s shortage of techs now and in the near future, it’s encouraging to see the American Boat and Yacht Council’s Marine Service Technology curriculum being adopted by increasing numbers of schools. Dealers and their local marine trades associations should be making it a point to contact and inform local schools to do the same.
ABYC announced that six new schools have enrolled in Marine Service Technology since April. It brings the number of schools around the country to 16 that are now using ABYC’s curriculum to prepare students to enter the marine workforce.
The program is designed to help schools implement a standard-based marine-service curriculum that includes inland or coastal test options. Participating schools receive textbooks, instructor guides, PowerPoint presentations, online demonstrations, videos, and test and quiz samples, among other materials.
In addition, a nationally recognized competency certificate is available for students who successfully complete the program and pass an exam administered by the National Occupational Competency Test Institute.
“We are thrilled that schools from all over the country are expressing interest, and we hope more young people will be inspired to pursue a rewarding career in the marine industry,” says Ed Sherman, ABYC education director. “This should be good news for all concerned about the workforce crisis, as schools are better prepared to train future applicants.”
Dealers and MTAs must spread the word in their local communities that schools around the nation are taking advantage of the Marine Service Technology curriculum. Adopting it would constitute a major step toward grooming the next-generation workforce. Learn more about the program here.
Meanwhile, ABYC will be hosting its first Educator Training Conference July 23-25 in Annapolis, Md. The event will cover a variety of topics aimed at enhancing the knowledge, delivery and support of marine tech instructors. The event is geared toward education administrators, instructors and those interested in teaching a marine technology course, as well as those from any institution that wants to learn more about initiating a marine program.
The six newest schools in the program: Palm Beach State College
- Palm Beach State College
- Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School
- Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School
- Cecil College
- Jones Technical Institute
- Cape Cod Regional Technical High
“Our partnership with ABYC is key to the success of Palm Beach State College’s new Marine Service Technology program,” says Eligio Marquez Jr., the school’s transportation technology program director. “By integrating ABYC’s industry standards-based curriculum with our Florida state framework, we’ll be able to offer the best possible program to our students, the future marine technicians Palm Beach County greatly needs.”
Click here for more information about the Educator Training Conference.
Grow Boating Webinar Series Available
In case you weren’t able to take advantage of Grow Boating’s recent three-part webinar series featuring Heather Lutze of Findability University, you can catch up because they are available at GrowBoating.org. Downloadable handouts are also available.
The series, which ended May 1, is designed to help marine businesses develop a marketing and search engine optimization plan to achieve online results that boost bottom lines. The three webinars outline strategies to identify marketing challenges, target ideal online customers, find keywords shoppers favor, implement social and blogging strategies, and build a website designed to convert visitors to customers.
- Session 1, “Spy on Yourself,” deals with how to learn what’s being said about you in social media.
- Session 2, “Spy on Your Prospects,” offers tools, tips and shortcuts for tapping into the mindset of your ideal online searcher.
- Session 3, “Spy on Your Competitors,” covers site rankings, how to dominate keyword searches and own the search results page, and setting yourself apart from competitors.
It’s all part of our industry’s successful Grow Boating program. It’s excellent education, it’s free, and it’s and worth your time to review. Click here for more.