Marine Technician Education Critical

As the marine industry is manufacturing engines that must meet EPA 2006 and CARB 2008 compliance, the industry must do everything in its power to recruit and educate as many qualified technicians as possible. Never has this become more critical than today. The industry is already facing a severe shortage of technicians, and as the current manufacturing trend of producing more complex engines continues, this situation will only get worse.

More highly technical candidates needed

The days of "points and condenser" engines are over. The newer EFI and DFI engines that are being manufactured now require a more technically advanced individual to train as a future marine technician. As a result, the industry must set its sights to recruit these types of individuals. As technologies improve in all industries, the demand and competition for these candidates is increasing. The marine industry must now compete with industries such as the computer technology, for example, in order to bring these individuals into the marine trade. Without a major commitment on behalf of the entire industry to improve the career path for marine technicians our industry will continue to be in serious trouble!

Technicians retiring

As the current group of marine technicians approach retirement age, the future for marine service doesn't look very bright. As president of the Association of Marine Technicians (AMTECH) I hear this all the time, "where can I find a good marine tech?" Unfortunately, my answer to this question is not very optimistic. As time goes on, this problem will only continue to worsen. This is not a matter that can be addressed in a few years; the crisis is on us NOW! In order for our industry to make changes in this area, we have to start the recruiting process immediately so that these individuals are given an opportunity to become trained. On the job training (OJT) in the marine industry has failed. And if it failed in the past, with the older technology engines, it will become a disaster in the future. The industry has to start looking at technical education as the primary source of fundamental training to begin a career path for these individuals.

Industry takes too long to make changes

I understand the posturing that goes on in all industries, and the marine industry is no different. Different organizations, associations, groups, etc., all have their own agendas to meet. However, in this case we are talking about the industry's survival. That means the future success or failure of the marine industry. The entire industry, from the manufacturer on down to the dealership, has to take this situation very seriously.

First of all, many within the industry must change the way they look at service. We can't be an industry dedicated to sales without an equal commitment to service. It just won't work! The customer will not tolerate shoddy or incompetent service and stay a committed boater. The marine industry has already recognized, through its own surveys, that most people leave boating for this very reason. Yet many still view our servicing technicians as one of the least recognized workers in our industry. The salary and benefit compensation packages for marine technicians are far below that of other comparable industries.

Outside view of the marine industry

I received a telephone call a few years ago from an aviation mechanic that wanted to enter the marine industry as a marine technician. Although I was happy to hear this, I couldn't help but ask this nice young man why. His answer has stayed with me ever since. The reason he wanted to be a marine technicians was because he wanted to make more money. At that point I couldn't help but ask him if he was under the impression that marine technicians made a lot of money, and his answer was, yes. Although I personally would like to see as many qualified persons entering our industry as possible, I didn't want to mislead him. I wanted to know why someone from outside the industry felt this way, so I asked him why he had that impression. He said, "Well, I see that the size of the marine industry is relatively small, when compared to the auto industry, and the average cost of a boat is much more expensive than a car, I just figured that a marine technician was a highly trained specialist. Along with the amount of money being spent on boats, I assumed a highly trained marine specialist must have been making a very good salary". I asked him if he felt that marine technicians made more money than automotive technicians, and he said yes. Unfortunately, this is not true. However, it should be. There is no reason a quality marine technician, which is trained and is a credit to the industry, shouldn't be compensated accordingly. This only makes sense.

Factory Training The marine industry's engine manufacturers have factory-sponsored training for the technicians that are employed by their authorized dealers; however, most of these individuals have gained their fundamental technical experience through on-the-job-training (OJT). Although the manufacturer can provide product-specific training to its dealer's technicians, without a strong fundamental base knowledge from which to build this training on, the technician is not always properly equipped. I spoke to an instructor for one of the major engine manufacturers a few years ago, and he told me that in his opinion, an overwhelming number of the techs he presents brand-specific training to, would fail a basic competency test on the principles of 2 and 4-stroke engines. This is very scary! The industry has to take this subject very seriously and make some positive changes now.

AMTECH Proposal Last year the Association of Marine Technicians made a proposal to the industry to initiate the establishment of a Marine School Accreditation Board, to establish a core curriculum marine technology program, and to improve the career path of marine technicians. I think this is the first step. At last report the industry is looking into these proposals. Hopefully the industry will realize the seriousness of this problem and it will start the ball rolling in a positive direction.

Joseph J. De Marco

AMTECH

President