Yamaha Marine today announced that Maitais Rodgers of Apopka Marine in Inverness, Fla., completed the apprentice program offered through Yamaha Marine University.
“Maitais came to us with minimum experience in the marine service industry,” Apopka Marine owner Joe Bega said in a statement. “He was detailing boats when I approached him about becoming a technician. Our industry has a severe shortage of qualified technicians, and the [Yamaha Marine Apprenticeship] program seemed like a perfect fit.”
Apopka service manager and master technician Greg Hughes mentored Rodgers during the program. The training includes Yamaha outboard technician training that includes maintenance, outboard rigging, trailers, fuel systems, powerhead components and operation, lower units, trim and tilt units, electrical systems and troubleshooting.
“The program at Apopka is a perfect example of how Yamaha is leading the charge to help proactively combat the shortage of marine technicians,” Gregg Snyder, marine training department manager for the Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, said in a statement. “Grooming technicians from the ground up through tech schools, apprentice programs and ongoing training is a proven formula that works for many dealerships.”
Rodgers’ goal is to earn Master Technician certification.
