Federal Grant Will Support Marine Trades School’s New Classrooms
Congressman Derek Kilmer announced today that the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Townsend was awarded a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to purchase training equipment for its new classroom building.
The nearly $450,000 federal grant will help the school address critical shortages of marine technicians by developing a hands-on training program to teaching marine systems.
“On April 5th the next class of 18 Marine Systems students starts in our brand-new building dedicated to the program, so the timing on this grant couldn’t have been better. This grant funds equipment so that each student can practice and master hands-on competencies in each of the disciplines. This need for one piece of equipment per student is even more pronounced during COVID,” said Betsy Davis, Executive Director, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. “Kevin Ritz, the school’s Marine Systems Lead Instructor, nationally recognized for his expertise in marine electrical and corrosion issues, developed the new 6-month program from scratch through continuous conversations with employers and others in the marine industry. It is designed so graduates will hit the ground running when they arrive in the workplace. We couldn’t have received this grant without broad community support, including a letter from the Jefferson County Commissioners documenting our collaboration and a grant from the First Federal Community Foundation for the match portion of this project. We are incredibly grateful.”
In addition to Rep. Kilmer’s support, the grant application was also backed by State Senator Kevin Van De Wege (24th LD), State Representative Steve Tharinger (24th LD), State Representative Mike Chapman (24th LD), the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, the North Olympic Development Council, the State of Washington Department of Commerce, the Port Townsend Shipwright Co-Op, and SAFE Boats International (SAFE).
Training will include a focus on electrical, corrosion, plumbing, diesel and outboard engines, heating and cooling, hydraulics and steering and propulsion.
Source: My Clallam County