COURTESY YAMAHA

Yamaha Marine this week announced that it co-hosted a maritime education consortium to train outboard instructors and technicians in Valdez, Alaska.

Two Yamaha trainers delivered Marine Certification Program curriculum to 11 instructors from the communities of Dillingham, Ketchikan, Soldotna, Juneau, Kodiak, Valdez, Kotzebue, Chevak, Kwigillingok and Quinhagak. The instructors represented school districts, Alaska Maritime Education Consortium faculty and representatives from the Coastal Villages Region Fund.

According to a statement, the training was inspired by the late congressman Don Young and is the culmination of the Yamaha Marine Training Program Agreement signed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, University of Alaska president Pat Pitney, former Department of Labor and Workforce Development commissioner Tamika L. Ledbetter and Ben Speciale, president, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit. The agreement established an infrastructure for Yamaha Marine products training across the state, specifically in remote regions. It also allows the Alaska Maritime Education Consortium to acquire materials at or below cost, including outboards and tools.

“Don Young originally brought the need for more technicians in remote areas to our attention, and we are proud to be a part of a program that will ultimately allow us to train more technicians and improve our level of service to customers in Alaska,” said Joe Maniscalco, general manager, Yamaha Marine Service, in the statement. “This agreement highlights our commitment to marine technician career development, and we hope this is just the beginning of more training opportunities in Alaska.”

AMEC will work with the newly certified instructors to establish maintenance and repair programs in their respective regions.

“This initiative will help Alaskans earn a living, work in Yamaha dealerships and fix outboards for people in their communities,” said Anthony Gerasch, Marine Service Technology instructor at Prince William Sound College, in the statement. “This will make a huge impact.”