While the Coronavirus may have forced us to close our doors for tours and community activities, we at the Spaulding Marine Center have been busier than ever.
Along with a full boatyard calendar, we have spent the last few months overhauling our educational programming, and we are excited to announce Boatworks 101, an innovative new apprenticeship program in which we will train the next generation of craftspeople in the marine industry.
The legacy of Myron Spaulding speaks to an era of doing things right. Drawing on the rich craft tradition instilled in the center by Myron himself, and building on it with a team of skilled tradespeople, educators, and industry leaders, we are uniquely positioned to help our apprentices develop the perspective, skills, and ethics necessary for a vibrant career in the boating industry.
Apprenticeship itself is a time-honored tradition in many trades and widely recognized by leaders across the business and political spectrum as an effective and underused professional development strategy.
We considered several models while developing Boatworks 101 and we decided that the best choice for us was creating a registered apprenticeship program to promote equal access. The majority of vocational training for the recreational boating industry happens at private trade schools like IYRS and Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, among others. While we have great respect for these organizations (our education director, Daniel, is himself an IYRS alumnus) they tend to have high tuition fees and costs.
Our apprenticeship model removes the financial barriers to young people without adequate resources. At Boatworks 101, trainees will be paid to learn, rather than the other way around. Because we will be investing in our apprentices from their first day in the shop, we expect our program to be a powerful force that helps individuals of many backgrounds build careers they can be proud of.
Boatworks 101, soon to be registered with the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards and the first program of its kind in the state, will begin in the fall of 2021 with an initial cohort of six apprentices who will spend nine months training at the Center and six months rotating through a number of partner employers throughout the Bay Area.
The apprenticeship is an earn-while-you-learn opportunity for young people interested in working in the recreational marine industry. Our target students likely will come from marginalized backgrounds and might not see a clear path toward a fulfilling career. Boatworks 101 will create that path toward success and security.
During the nine months at Spaulding, apprentices will learn basic shop safety and tool skills while also gaining familiarity with marine carpentry, structural work, propulsion, and yacht systems. We will develop these skills while working on a new boat build, using a blend of traditional and modern techniques and materials.
In the “classroom” we will have two main areas of focus: developing an ethic of craftsmanship and completing the American Boat and Yacht Council’s Marine Service Technician Curriculum, which has been specifically designed for use by career and technical educators. This coursework provides a solid foundation for the further development of marine trades skills and familiarizes apprentices with the best practices put forth by the ABYC, the major credentialing body in the recreational marine industry.
Following nine months of training at Spaulding, apprentices will rotate out for six months of one-month assignments with a variety of employer partners throughout the Bay Area. The apprentices will have the opportunity to get a feel for various specialties, working with electricians, diesel mechanics, riggers, carpenters, composites experts, and other specialists throughout the industry.
Each of our partner employers has expressed the consistent need for dedicated, skilled, excellence-oriented workers, and we expect that the combination of our in-house training and the six months of rotations will help make our Boatworks 101 apprentices become highly sought-after employees.
Bill Edinger, president of Spaulding’s has always dreamed of creating a vocational program at the Spaulding Marine Center. Last May a volunteer inquiry dropped into his inbox from Bruce Holaday, a highly experienced educator and administrator.
With Bruce onboard and with our education director, Jay Grant, who also has an extensive Sailing and teaching background, we had the right team to bring a vocational training program from a lofty goal to a reality. Further, we believe that difficult times like the ones we’re living in right now are the best moments to present bold new plans and experiments.
Our vision is to create a growing job creation program free of financial or other barriers to entry. Although our initial program will be limited to six students we plan a scalable model so we can serve many more trainees in the future.
We look forward to your support in this ambitious and exciting endeavor!