Company News
Yamaha Marine Lends Support to 2022 SkillsUSA® National Competition, Fosters Marine Technician Career Development
Posted 7/7/2022
Atlanta, Ga.— July 7, 2022 - Yamaha Marine supported the 2022 National SkillsUSA® Competition in Atlanta, Ga., June 20-24, through the organization and facilitation of the Marine Service Technology competition segment. In addition to the marine technology events, the national competition, which took place at the Georgia World Congress Center, also featured welding, construction trades, manufacturing, transportation, health care, hospitality, human services and more.
SkillsUSA® is a national membership association serving college/postsecondary, high school and middle school students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skill service occupations. The organization gives students opportunities to test their skills against others for a chance to compete on a national level to earn scholarships and other prizes.
Gregg Snyder, Yamaha Marine Training Department Manager, and Mark Harden, Yamaha Marine District Service Manager, served as National Technical Chairperson and National Technical Co-Chairperson of the Marine Technology Competition during the 2022 SkillsUSA® National Competition, positions they assumed in 2019.
“When the Yamaha team started attending the national competition, we noticed there was a lack of industry support for this competition and we realized how important it was, not just for our dealers and tech schools, but for the students attending those tech schools,” said Snyder. “We devote substantial resources and time to SkillsUSA® on an annual basis to help develop a pipeline of qualified technicians for our dealer partners. When dealerships can recruit talented technicians, customer service and experiences on the water improve exponentially.”
Yamaha sponsored 16 labs at the competition, which included individual skill stations and a written or online test. The hands-on test stations featured many aspects of two-stroke and four-stroke outboards, stern drive and inboard troubleshooting and repair. The written or online test included diagnostics, service and repair of marine accessory items. The labs tested the abilities of marine contestants by evaluating their skills in areas such as precision measuring, electrical testing, component identification, repair, diagnostics and more.
State and regional SkillsUSA® competitions give Yamaha the opportunity to work directly with Technical School Partners (TSPs) to place talented, skilled professionals with certified Yamaha dealers. Yamaha Marine currently has more than 100 Technical School Partners that offer Yamaha-certified marine technical training curriculum to students. Yamaha works with technical schools to improve their curriculum and classroom training aids.
In 2018, 2019 and 2022, five of the six overall winners were affiliated with Yamaha Technical School Partners.
“Yamaha’s dedication to building the next generation of marine technicians is unsurpassed in the industry,” said Matt Springs, Horry-Georgetown Technical College Professor, Yamaha Master Technician and SkillsUSA® judge. “As the only outboard manufacturer to offer support in the form of parts donations, student course content, curriculum and SkillsUSA® involvement, Yamaha is leading the charge in marine technician career development.”
SkillsUSA® competitions also serve as excellent opportunities for marine dealers to recruit qualified technicians at the state level. Yamaha Marine Service team members attend roughly 10 state SkillsUSA® competitions during the year to support Yamaha students. Yamaha Marine dealers also attend these competitions to observe the students in action and network for future opportunities within their dealerships.
“Attending SkillsUSA® competitions has many benefits from a dealership perspective. It’s amazing to see the depth of what’s available outside of mainstream education in terms of training for young technicians,” said Clark Pickett, Fixed Operations Manager, OneWater Marine Dealership. “The industry is desperate for technicians, and for companies like Yamaha to invest in the next generation is absolutely critical.”
SkillsUSA® has served about 14 million members since it was founded in 1965. This membership includes more than 394,000 students, instructors, alumni and advisors annually. SkillsUSA® has more than 19,000 local chapters and represents 130 occupational titles, or one-quarter of the jobs offered in the U.S.
2022 SkillsUSA® National Leadership and Skills Conference Marine Service Technology Medalists:
*Yamaha Marine Technical School Partner
Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, based in Kennesaw, Ga., markets and sells marine outboard motors ranging in size from 2.5 to 425 horsepower. It also markets and sells fiberglass, jet-drive sport boats ranging from 19 to 27 feet, and personal watercraft. The unit includes manufacturing divisions of Yamaha Marine Systems Co., Inc., including Kracor of Milwaukee (rotational molding), Bennett Marine of Deerfield Beach, Fla. (trim tabs), and Yamaha Marine Precision Propellers of Indianapolis (stainless steel propellers). Yamaha Marine Group is a division of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., based in Cypress, Calif.
SkillsUSA® is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA® helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA® Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA®’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA®’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA® has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. We have served 13.9 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.
###
This document contains many of Yamaha's valuable trademarks. It may also contain trademarks belonging to other companies. Any references to other companies or their products are for identification purposes only and are not intended to be an endorsement. Siren Marine is a registered trademark of Siren Marine, LLC.
REMEMBER to always observe all applicable boating laws. Never drink and drive. Dress properly with a USCG-approved personal floatation device and protective gear.
© 2022 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved.
SkillsUSA® is a national membership association serving college/postsecondary, high school and middle school students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skill service occupations. The organization gives students opportunities to test their skills against others for a chance to compete on a national level to earn scholarships and other prizes.
Gregg Snyder, Yamaha Marine Training Department Manager, and Mark Harden, Yamaha Marine District Service Manager, served as National Technical Chairperson and National Technical Co-Chairperson of the Marine Technology Competition during the 2022 SkillsUSA® National Competition, positions they assumed in 2019.
“When the Yamaha team started attending the national competition, we noticed there was a lack of industry support for this competition and we realized how important it was, not just for our dealers and tech schools, but for the students attending those tech schools,” said Snyder. “We devote substantial resources and time to SkillsUSA® on an annual basis to help develop a pipeline of qualified technicians for our dealer partners. When dealerships can recruit talented technicians, customer service and experiences on the water improve exponentially.”
Yamaha sponsored 16 labs at the competition, which included individual skill stations and a written or online test. The hands-on test stations featured many aspects of two-stroke and four-stroke outboards, stern drive and inboard troubleshooting and repair. The written or online test included diagnostics, service and repair of marine accessory items. The labs tested the abilities of marine contestants by evaluating their skills in areas such as precision measuring, electrical testing, component identification, repair, diagnostics and more.
State and regional SkillsUSA® competitions give Yamaha the opportunity to work directly with Technical School Partners (TSPs) to place talented, skilled professionals with certified Yamaha dealers. Yamaha Marine currently has more than 100 Technical School Partners that offer Yamaha-certified marine technical training curriculum to students. Yamaha works with technical schools to improve their curriculum and classroom training aids.
In 2018, 2019 and 2022, five of the six overall winners were affiliated with Yamaha Technical School Partners.
“Yamaha’s dedication to building the next generation of marine technicians is unsurpassed in the industry,” said Matt Springs, Horry-Georgetown Technical College Professor, Yamaha Master Technician and SkillsUSA® judge. “As the only outboard manufacturer to offer support in the form of parts donations, student course content, curriculum and SkillsUSA® involvement, Yamaha is leading the charge in marine technician career development.”
SkillsUSA® competitions also serve as excellent opportunities for marine dealers to recruit qualified technicians at the state level. Yamaha Marine Service team members attend roughly 10 state SkillsUSA® competitions during the year to support Yamaha students. Yamaha Marine dealers also attend these competitions to observe the students in action and network for future opportunities within their dealerships.
“Attending SkillsUSA® competitions has many benefits from a dealership perspective. It’s amazing to see the depth of what’s available outside of mainstream education in terms of training for young technicians,” said Clark Pickett, Fixed Operations Manager, OneWater Marine Dealership. “The industry is desperate for technicians, and for companies like Yamaha to invest in the next generation is absolutely critical.”
SkillsUSA® has served about 14 million members since it was founded in 1965. This membership includes more than 394,000 students, instructors, alumni and advisors annually. SkillsUSA® has more than 19,000 local chapters and represents 130 occupational titles, or one-quarter of the jobs offered in the U.S.
2022 SkillsUSA® National Leadership and Skills Conference Marine Service Technology Medalists:
*Yamaha Marine Technical School Partner
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, based in Kennesaw, Ga., markets and sells marine outboard motors ranging in size from 2.5 to 425 horsepower. It also markets and sells fiberglass, jet-drive sport boats ranging from 19 to 27 feet, and personal watercraft. The unit includes manufacturing divisions of Yamaha Marine Systems Co., Inc., including Kracor of Milwaukee (rotational molding), Bennett Marine of Deerfield Beach, Fla. (trim tabs), and Yamaha Marine Precision Propellers of Indianapolis (stainless steel propellers). Yamaha Marine Group is a division of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., based in Cypress, Calif.
SkillsUSA® is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA® helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA® Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA®’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA®’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA® has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. We have served 13.9 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.
###
This document contains many of Yamaha's valuable trademarks. It may also contain trademarks belonging to other companies. Any references to other companies or their products are for identification purposes only and are not intended to be an endorsement. Siren Marine is a registered trademark of Siren Marine, LLC.
REMEMBER to always observe all applicable boating laws. Never drink and drive. Dress properly with a USCG-approved personal floatation device and protective gear.
© 2022 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved.