• Building Out Apprenticed Trades (BOAT) Jobs Grant Submission Backed by Leading Marine Industry Organizations and World’s Largest Dealerships
MINNEAPOLIS, May, 10 — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas rallied leadership from throughout the marine industry in its application for submission to the US Department of Labor’s “Apprenticeship Building America” Grant Program.
Labeled “Building Out Apprenticed Trades (BOAT) Jobs,” MRAA’s application received written letters of support and recommendation from 26 marine industry organizations, including all of the leading engine manufacturers and the world’s three largest marine dealership operations. Combined, the reach of these organizations offers this apprenticeship program the potential of extending to every dealership location in the United States.
“The BOAT Jobs development team, which included the entire staff at MRAA and other industry association leadership, was inspired by the incredible outpouring of support and desire for this workforce development effort,” said Wendy Mackie, Director of Workforce and Foundation Development at the MRAA. “BOAT Jobs is truly a national, industry-wide effort that will give us the ability to address, head-on, our ongoing workforce shortages and ensure there is a continuous pipeline of marine industry talent.”
While MRAA is the lead organization on this endeavor, the strength of the proposal lies with the collaboration between employers, MRAA, the state marine trades associations and other national organizations. “We all have to work together in order to build a sustainable workforce for our industry,” said Mackie.
As submitted, the grant application outlines that MRAA would create multiple Registered Apprenticeship Programs, in coordination with industry partners, along with several Regional Registered Apprenticeship Hubs. Those Hubs would allow MRAA to deliver the necessary resources and programming for meeting the program’s goals through regional partners.
The grant proceeds, which could provide MRAA with as much as $8 million over four years, would fund the creation of technician and other service department apprenticeship and education programs, in addition to providing seed money for industry businesses to subsidize the costs of hiring apprentices. Grant funding will also support the development of a national career awareness and recruitment campaign and build out capacity in the regional Registered Apprenticeship Hubs with technical assistance and funding to hire a dedicated workforce person in each hub.
MRAA received letters of support from the National Marine Manufacturers Association, Association of Marina Industries, American Boat Builders & Repairers Association, National Marine Electronics Association and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, as well as nine state-based associations and workforce development organizations. Those state-based organizations — Boating Industry Association of Central New York, Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, Maryland Marine Trades Association, Marine Trades Association of New Jersey, Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, Michigan Boating Industry Association, RealTime Talent Minnesota, Rhode Island Marine Trades Association, and Northwest Marine Trades Association with the Northwest Center of Excellence for Marine Manufacturing and Technology at Skagit Valley College (Washington) — would serve as the appointed Hubs.
Over the last decade, the boating industry workforce shortage grew. A 2017 MRAA survey solidified that notion, revealing that by 2019, the number of open positions in dealerships would exceed 31,000 — that number does not even include vacancies of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and other marine related businesses. By 2019, with the number of dealerships growing nationwide, the expected 31,000-person deficit was much higher and was no longer just a human resources issue, but also an economic one. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Recognizing the need to tackle this from a national scope with the urgency other industry advocacy efforts require, MRAA engaged former Rhode Island Marine Trades Association CEO, Wendy Mackie to catalyze the implementation of the “Strategy 10+1: A Marine Industry Guide to Growing the Workforce,” the workforce plan sanctioned by 25 regional and national marine industry associations. Ms. Mackie’s extensive workforce experience has positioned MRAA to act as Lead Applicant on this grant project which institutes a national strategy to build out capacity and support for regional industry partners to act as workforce intermediaries. The BOAT Jobs approach to workforce development will allow for shared knowledge and resources across the regions while delivering local results-based training, mentoring and hiring.
Mackie and the program are off to a promising start, evidenced by the industry-wide outpouring of support BOAT Jobs has received. She added, “It will be an all-hands-effort. The BOAT Jobs program supports MRAA’s commitment to partnership as a pathway to solving the industry’s workforce issues.”
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
