INDUSTRY VOICES
Awakening of awareness
BY NIKKI STOREY
If you were to ask me , the number one trait required for success in the marine industry comes down to two words , problem solving . That is where my story in the industry began , as I was asked to join Great Lakes Boat Building School ( GLBBS ) in Cedarville , Michigan to spearhead a campaign to establish GLBBS as a nationally accredited institution . Receiving accreditation not only helped our students access financial support for their educational journey , it also cemented the school as a leader in marine training . Once that hurdle was cleared , we set our sights on building up the school ’ s curriculum and launched a capital campaign with the goal of raising $ 3.8 million to support a new certification course and facility on our campus . I am happy to share that GLBBS will break ground on the new building this summer which , once completed , will house the only Marine Electronics specialized program in the country .
As a Darlene Briggs Woman of the Year awardee , I am honored to join the ranks of talented women who have been recognized for their ability to solve problems and create impactful change within the industry . I feel a personal obligation to make a difference by helping pave the way for students of all backgrounds to launch successful careers of their own and build a life on the water . In a way , Great Lakes Boat Building School is founded in the spirit of problem solving , as we have taken a strategic approach in addressing the number one issue in the marine industry – developing and securing skilled , career minded employees . The instructional team at GLBBS establishes standards to ensure our students not only graduate with a solid foundation in technical training but can also pass the professionalism criteria .
What makes us different than other programs and schools ?
Commitment – Students train onsite for 12 months .
Hands on skill development – Students spend over 80 % of their time training on skill building hands on projects .
Professionalism – Key to the success of our programs – failure to pass professionalism criteria results in program dismissal .
Our standards are high , but this results in strong metrics of student success – 100 % career placement and over 94 % student satisfaction scores over the last seven years . The training we offer , and the jobs offered post-graduation , are so highly sought after we have been waitlisting students at GLBBS . The moral of the story – students want marine industry careers !
In order to prepare students for careers in the marine industry we must keep our finger on the pulse of what skills employers require and what obstacles are preventing them from finding the skilled tradespeople they need . Through this lens it became clear that there is a huge lack of awareness about marine industry careers , even in a water wonderland like Michigan , where boating has an estimated $ 7.8 billion dollar impact on the economy . The GLBBS team recognized this weakness and set our problem-solving skills to work by setting course on a career awareness campaign . By enlisting support from industry leading dealers , our educational institution has partnered with marine employers in ways that have never been done before . We launched this new career awareness campaign in the fall of 2022 by developing an exclusive opportunity
Marine Dealer Education Network partner , Irish Boat Shop , packs the shop with Marine Trades
Showcase activities and prospective employees .
14 june 2023 www . boatingindustry . com