Press Releases

November 2, 2005, Edgewater, MD: In July 2005, the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Professional BoatBuilder magazine, co-producers of the Conference on Marine Industry Technical Training (COMITT), announced that the most important outcome (COMITT) 2005, was the establishment of the Marine Industry Technical Education Council (MITEC); a 23 member council to develop a industry-wide approach to the voluntary, consensus-based tracking, management, accreditation and certification of marine workforce technical education and training programs.

Immediately following COMITT the MITEC was created and immediately began holding a series of conference calls to organize and develop By-Laws and a concept of structure and operation. MITEC held it's first face-to-face meeting at the 2005 International BoatBuilders' Exhibition & Conference (IBEX), and has set for itself and began working it's way through an ambitious schedule. The MITEC has now established a mission statement, confirmed the election of Chair, Ed Boncek, Director of Dealer Channel Management Systems, Sea Ray Boats, Vice Chair, Joe DeMarco, President, Association of Marine Technicians (AMTECH), and Secretary, Skip Burdon, President, ABYC, created interim by-laws and established divisions and working committees to accomplish specific projects or programs that will help find solutions to the marine industry's shortage of producing and sustaining a technically proficient marine workforce for the 21st century. Established Divisions include:

• Career Awareness & Opportunities - to propose career awareness programs and initiatives for the community, industry and educational institutions that promote career fields and opportunities in the marine trades;
• Professional Development - to propose, and if approved, implement and manage a program that will review voluntarily submitted assessment-based courses that award certification or accreditation upon successful completion;
• Economic Resources - to seek, investigate, acquire and/or facilitate transfer or award of available economic resources desired by education and training centers in support of their programs (ex. Materials support for a high school or trades program);
• Workforce Development - to propose and implement programs that work with local, state, federal and "other" workforce development councils, associations, etc. to provide economic support to marine organizations that provide workforce training and professional development to their technicians;
• Organizational Administration of MITEC - to propose, and if approved, manage an appropriate education information management system, and also ensure the efficient flow of information regarding MITEC and its working committees between members of the MITEC, as well as industry.

Working Committees under each division have been established and will be populated by industry and educational institution representatives over the next few months. MITEC's goal is to have the committees fully populated by the conclusion of COMITT '06.

Ed Boncek, MITEC Chair said, "MITEC has a unique opportunity to address a weakness in the recreational marine industry. We are fortunate in the timing of our endeavor as great strides have been made in pulling the industry together under the umbrella of the Grow Boating initiative. Now we must look at also pulling together to grow our technician workforce. While the MITEC has a lot to accomplish, we must keep our mission in front of us, which is 'To facilitate the creation and sustained availability of a technically skilled and proficient labor force for the marine industry through education, training and professional development. The supporting mission of the Council is to promote public awareness and appreciation of technical workforce career opportunities within the marine industry', and I am excited about working with the MITEC members to create a solid foundation for the growth of our industry."

Joe DeMarco, MITEC Vice-Chair also stated, "As a provider of marine services for many years, I can say that the commitment, energy and dedication of our MITEC members is very encouraging. MITEC should be proud of what they've accomplished just in a few meetings, and I am looking forward to working with the various committees to accomplish the goals of MITEC, which will eventually lead to improving career opportunities for all technicians."

MITEC will be administratively and financially supported by ABYC and through contributions made by industry organizations and individuals to the ABYC Foundation for the immediate future. Long term plans, however, call for to ultimately form its own not-for-profit organization.

COMITT will continue to serve as the industry's conference of choice for gathering industry representatives and educators together to discuss and debate current and future marine industry technical education and training needs, while MITEC has been established to:

• catalog all marine industry technical education and training being offered in North America;
• provide a coordinating entity for those industry and educational organizations desiring to participate in this voluntary, consensus-based program;
• set recommended and voluntary guidelines for marine technical workforce training and certification, which could later develop into industry accepted standards;
• develop criteria for and assign continuing marine educational credits (CMECs) to technical courses (outcome based examination or performance-based demonstration of minimum required skill sets) offered by participating organizations;
• develop criteria for and assign of continuing marine educational units (CMEUs) for approved events (seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, professional reading, etc.); and,
• coordinate and maintain an automated, electronic database management system to provide essential educational record keeping, certificate production and transcripts for workforce personnel who volunteer to participate in the program.

To learn more about MITEC be sure to attend COMITT ' 06. The theme for COMITT '06 is "Resources for Success," which will be held January 23 - 24, 2006 at the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa in Safety Harbor, FL. Visit www.abycinc.org and click on the COMITT logo for registration information and program updates.

The Marine Industry Technical Education Council (MITEC) was established as a result of the Conference on Marine Industry Technical Training (COMITT). MITEC's purpose is to facilitate the creation and sustained availability of a technically skilled and proficient labor force for the marine industry through education, training and professional development. The supporting mission of the Council is to promote public awareness and appreciation of technical workforce career opportunities within the marine industry.