Three Massachusetts schools add ABYC curriculum

The Massachusetts Marine Trades Association has provided three technical high schools in the state with financial assistance to add the American Boat & Yacht Council’s curriculum this fall. They are Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School and Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School.

MMTA is giving the schools money to pay for the curriculum plus some of the textbooks needed to start the programs. The funding was made available through the workforce budget amendment the association received last year from the Massachusetts state budget.

“I’m thrilled to see the state of Massachusetts adopt our ABYC Fundamentals curriculum in three of its schools,” Ed Sherman, vice president of education at ABYC, said in a statement. “The Massachusetts Marine Trades Association is the first to take this proactive role in helping to fund this endeavor as a part of its workforce development efforts. Other marine trade groups should follow their lead. The ABYC’s standards-based program will go a long way toward development for the next generation of marine-industry service professionals.”

The two schools on Cape Cod currently have marine training programs in place and have placed workers at boating industry businesses in the state. The New Bedford program will offer a 900-hour, adult marine-training program this fall and begin a day program the following year. The ABYC curriculum offers students an industry-recognized certificate, making them more valuable to businesses in the future.

“GNB Voc-Tech is proud to be the beacon of hope for CVTE education on the South Coast,” James L. O’Brien, superintendent of GNB Voc-Tech, said in the statement. “This funding will incorporate an industry-valued curriculum and credentials into our Marine Technology Chapter 74 programs that we are currently pursuing at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Students in the near future will have access to an employer-recognized and demanded ABYC credential that will bolster their career prospects.”