PHOTO COURTESY ABYC

The American Boat & Yacht Council yesterday announced that it will host its next Educator Forum on April 2. The virtual event brings together high school and post-secondary educators, administrators and marine service program leaders, and provides a collaborative platform to address challenges, share resources and explore opportunities for students pursuing careers in the marine industry.

ABYC has enlisted Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA — a national organization that helps students develop skills for careers in technical, industrial and trade fields — to speak about the impact of their national and state challenges.

“It’s more important than ever to invest in education and accessible training,” ABYC accreditation director Sarah Devlin said in a statement. “Marine industry leaders can participate in the full event or join specific sessions based on their interests. Your support and input will help shape the future of marine training programs and have a lasting impact on workforce development.”

At the previous forum, representatives from Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Mercury shared insights on their strategies to support marine technology programs and emphasized the importance of collaboration in addressing the industry’s technician shortage.

Nick VanNocker, Mercury Marine training development and operations manager, detailed Mercury’s robust support for schools, including curriculum, products, parts, accessories, product donations and a supplementary textbook. “The only way we can stop this workforce shortage is by the industry coming together,” VanNocker said in the statement, stressing the need for collaboration among manufacturers.

Click here to register for the free Educator Forum or contact Sarah Devlin at [email protected].