Marine Industry Training & Education Council

MITEC Skills Analysis Intro

The MITEC Marine Skills Analysis can be used by a variety of marine industry professionals and individuals interested in becoming a part of our industry’s workforce. The analysis represents several years of research and information gathering from a variety of extremely credible sources.

Some examples of who might use this analysis are employers who may want to evaluate their employee’s skill sets to establish training needs. Curriculum designers and teachers of marine trades programs can use the information to gain insight into what skill sets need to be developed in various topic areas for specific jobs within the industry.

Career changers who need to evaluate their own life skill sets to see what skills or knowledge they may need to acquire in order to perform in the marine industry with confidence will find this information useful. Employers and individuals will find this information useful in building career ladders as the steps are clearly identified. Parents of students considering a marine industry career will be able to use this analysis to assist them in evaluating prospective marine training programs.

The information sources include data provided by all of the major marine engine manufacturers such as Mercury Marine, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki Motors, Yanmar and Volvo Penta. Additionally, data was provided by the American Boat & Yacht Council, American Boat Builder’s and Repairers Association, the Australian Boat Building trades analysis, United States Coast Guard, Skills USA and the US Department of Labor. Additional information was provided by the Canadian boat building associations in Nova Scotia, Canada, New Brunswick, Canada and British Columbia, Canada. Further information was also provided by the Marine Industry Association of South Florida and the Yacht Broker’s Association of America.

It’s important to note that 36 job titles were identified as part of this research and they are specifically targeted towards the marine service and boat building trades, which is the focus of MITEC. The research identified 74 skill areas and matched these skills to the job titles. The skill set requirements identify general knowledge areas as well as technology specific skills.

We hope you find this information useful, and as always the MITEC considers these documents dynamic. Suggestions for improvement or additions that are relevant are always welcome.

To download the complete file of career definitions, click here. We appreciate your comments on this product. Please use the comments section below to tell us what you think of this project, how you are using the information, and what more information you might need.

Marine Trades Skills Assessment

Hello. Does anyone have a Marine Trades Skills Assessment they are willing to share? Thanks!

Women and Technology

I’ve seen a number of interesting articles lately about women and technology, with a great on-going discussion taking place on the “Girly Geekdom” website, which includes a link to a New York Times article about how and why women are leaving technology careers for other fields, where they receive better treatment.

I can’t help but wonder how much of this is going on in hands-on technology, too. As we noted at COMITT, we are not a very “diverse” group. What can we do to change that?

Marine Industry Career Ladder

Interested in helping us devise a marine-industry career ladder? Go to http://marinelear.ning.com/groups/careerladder to join the group! Or click on the link to “Groups” above.

Industry-Wide Needs Analysis

In order to determine true labor market demand-and-supply needs within the marine industry, the Marine Industry Training & Education Council (MITEC) has launched an industry-wide needs analysis campaign.

Ed Sherman, MITEC Professional Development Division Director, said, “Our goal is to obtain at least 1,000 responses to give us the quantity of data we seek, both in terms of training requirements and workforce development needs.

Once the analysis is completed, anyone working in the marine industry will have access to the information which will be published on the MITEC website (www.boatingcareerinfo.org). This information will benefit marine associations, trade organizations, manufacturers, dealers, yards, groups or individuals applying for both national or state grants, and others who are working to develop marine-training programs.

Steve Kitchin, MITEC Chair and Vice President, Corporate Education and Training at New England Institute of Technology explained that, “Whether an organization applies for workforce development funds, economic development funds, or any type of grant, the very first thing the funding agency will want to see – is a viable need supported by empirical data. Our survey results will clearly demonstrate what the marine industry’s needs.”

Sherman added, “Educational institutions and individuals who are developing marine-training programs will also benefit from this information. For example, a school that is establishing a marine-training program or curriculum will be able to show how its courses will help build a necessary labor force in a particular geographic area. The more responses we receive, the more detailed analysis we will be able to provide, right down to a regional perspective.”

Ed Lofgren, MITEC’s Workforce Development Division Director also stated, “This survey is not just for MITEC, but for the entire industry. Many marine trade organizations can’t afford to collect regional data on their own, and that can prevent them from going after funding. Once MITEC has completed the survey, the results will be available for any and all to use to attain workforce funds that will grow our industry.”

Already, more than 400 people have respond to the survey, and MITEC encouraging anyone all marine-industry employers to participate.