Editor's Note

This month I want to talk about a pending crisis in the marine community that seldom gets much attention: Our marine services providers aren’t getting any younger, while fewer and fewer young people are going into these trades. It’s become challenging for most coastal boat services companies to find qualified employees, and there are few training programs offered locally to help give potential candidates those qualifications.

Why is this a crisis? For many of you it may not be. Until you have a problem with your boat and it’s going to take three months to get it repaired because your mechanic or other boat service provider is so backed up they can’t get to it before then. There goes your summer on the water.

The Georgia Marine Business Association (GAMBA), made up of marine businesses in coastal Georgia, and of which I’m currently the executive director, has been looking into this for a while. What we’ve learned is that it’s a multi-faceted issue: a lack of available training, a lack of interest from local schools in offering the necessary courses, the lack of organized internships or hands-on training programs, and the younger generation’s lack of interest in or awareness of marine trades. All of which combined seems almost too large of a problem to tackle. GAMBA is working to develop a marine trades scholarship fund. But who would we award it to, and where would they go to get training?

Let’s break it down.

Lack of available training. While most outboard manufacturers offer training certification programs for their motors, these course typically only available through dealers. Meaning you have to get a job with a dealer before you can go through the school. There are similar programs through some electronics manufacturers. This is certainly one avenue, but there are no such programs for general engine repair, boat electrical systems, fiberglass, marine plumbing or heating and cooling, generator repair, rigging, or other general boat repair training. You can send your child to school outside the area (Florida, Annapolis, New England), but that can be costly in out-of-state tuition rates alone.

This segues into the next problem, which is a lack of interest in local schools to offer courses. We do have several technical colleges in the region, and one would think given the number of boats in coastal Georgia that courses in boat repair and maintenance might seem logical offerings, but sadly that isn’t the case. And in reaching out to several of them, GAMBA representatives have gotten little if any interest or even response.

Hands-on training and internships are how many tradesmen have learned their skills in the past and many would agree that this is often better than any formal training available. This is challenging in that the employer runs the risk of training someone only to have them leave and take their skills elsewhere. Agreements can be put in place to prevent this for a given period of time, but that requires an organized program to be established and most boat service providers are simply too busy to take time out to develop training plans and iron out employment agreements.

The next issue to overcome is getting young folks interested in even pursuing a career in marine trades. In recent decades, our society as a whole has been focused more on sending our kids out to get college degrees rather than to become tradesmen, and the repercussions of this have been rippling outward ever since. The K-12 education system seems geared more toward college than vocational training and it leads one to wonder if today’s teenager is even aware that they could earn a decent living by learning a trade. It’s hard to know if you have an interest in something if you don’t even know it’s an option.

This all summarizes the marine trades problem. So how do we solve it?

One starting point that’s been put forth on multiple occasions is to approach area high schools and begin working with them to develop vocational training programs in partnership with area marine businesses. Reach kids when they’re figuring out what they want to do with their lives and present them with marine trades as an option. And while doing this, encourage local marine businesses to participate.

Next we would need to push area technical colleges harder to offer training programs, and possibly even assist in helping them procure qualified instructors.

It’s going to take community effort to make any of this happen.

You might ask, “Why would my son or daughter want to learn a marine trade?” There are several answers to that question. Working in a great environment is one big reason. Other reasons include job security, earning a decent wage, staying close to family and friends in a local job, providing needed services in our community, and having skills that can easily transition to other industries if for some reason the boating industry ever takes a bad hit economically.

There are solutions, we just need to come together, work together, to find them. We want to hear your thoughts and ideas. Get in touch.

See you out there!

Amy Thurman Editor in Chief amy@southerntidesmagazine.com