A Rising Tide: Massasoit and Mass. Marine Trades Association Partner Up

Bill Fairbanks is a boating man and a teacher. A perfect match for the job, you might say, when Massasoit Community College's Workforce Development and Community Education Division teamed up with the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association to help fill a glaring need for trained boatyard technicians.

Fairbanks, a retired Plymouth school teacher, and an industrial engineer who also runs his own business, Harbor Mooring Service in Scituate, was the perfect person to help create a new Marine Technician Certificate Program. And so, for two evenings a week, plus a few Saturdays, Bill is now teaching at Massasoit's Canton campus the first of four modules that make up the Marine Technician Certificate Program.

The 23 students enrolled in the vanguard program are only the tip of the iceberg. Already, there is a waiting list of 24 students anxious to enroll. Matching the workforce needs of Plymouth County's service and industrial businesses with a labor force anxious for training, advancement and job relocation is what the county's only community college, Massasoit, does so well.

Elaine Stewart is the College's Dean of Workforce Development and Community Education. The division she heads has as its mission: "To communicate on a regular basis with the business, industry, government and nonprofit sectors to ensure that both the College's training courses and programs, as well as credit programs, are meeting the service area needs for attracting and retaining skilled workers." To this end, Stewart told me, the college offers "job-focused, quality, training courses at a reasonable price, collaborating with businesses to develop new, necessary courses and training to fill current company needs." As an outgrowth of the workforce development mission, Massasoit's Professional Development Center was established to specifically match training needs with training deeds. The Center works to customize programs that "fulfill a company's ideal training package in terms of quality, content, time and location." Training can take place at the worksite or can utilize campus facilities.

Pairing with the Mass. Marine Trades Association to help train new boatyard workers was a natural for the college, and it established a partnership which joins a list that includes Jordan Hospital, Life Care Centers of America, Habilitation Assistance Corp. and Plymouth County Corrections, to name just a few. As a state institution, Massasoit's mission is, of course, to serve the needs of the Commonwealth, and historically, we have a state rich in maritime history.

The Massachusetts Marine Trades Association has shown that the Massachusetts recreational marine economy is one of the most vibrant marine economies in the country. It's not difficult to see why. With nearly 1500 miles of coastline, 27,000 miles of inland waters and roughly 1260 marine trade businesses and individuals, Massachusetts recreational boaters account for almost 15% of the spending on recreational boating in the U.S. and generate nearly $1.5 billion for the state's economy.

That's why the need for boatyard workers and technicians continues to grow. And why Bill Fairbanks' first class in the Marine Technicians program at Massasoit, Marine Fundamentals, was filled from the moment the program was announced. His students come from fields as varied as health care and auto mechanics. Some already work in boatyards; while others have no marine experience.

Several students in the class have already found part-time jobs in the field. All of Plymouth County's boatyards are facing an increased demand in recreational boating and are coping with new marine technologies and a need for up-to-date trained technicians. The yards and marinas are well aware of the Massasoit program and there are many jobs awaiting the graduates as they complete their training.

For more information on partnerships with Massasoit's Workforce Development program, call Dean Elaine Stewart at 508-588-9100, ext. 1560 or by e-mail at estewart@massasoit.mass.edu.