More marine techs are needed for a fast-growing boating industry.

That was the message—or one of several—from leading industry spokespersons at a meeting with Congressional Boating Caucus members and legislative staff in Washington. And at Lake of the Ozarks, local stakeholders are saying the same thing.

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) in partnership with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) went to Capitol Hill on Jan. 31, 2018 for the meeting and the annual State of the Industry briefings at the Russell Senate and Rayburn House office buildings.

The Congressional Boating Caucus is an informal bipartisan group of US senators and representatives formed in 1989 to advocate for the interests of the recreational boating industry.

MRAA President Matt Gruhn spoke to the shortage of qualified marine service workers, and the need for elected leaders to continue to broaden their thinking about what education means in America. “We need more support for apprenticeship and other technical trade programs, and encourage more people to make recreational boating their career,” said Gruhn.

His comments resonate strongly at Lake of the Ozarks, the top recreational boating lake in the nation, according to a national survey conducted by USA Today/10Best. Nestled among the Ozark hills in central Missouri, the Lake boasts upwards of 25,000 docks, and the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitor Bureau estimates between 4.5–5 million people visit the Lake every year: in the summer, the region swells to become the third-largest "metro area," by population, in the state.

At the Lake, marine dealers and marina service departments are feeling the need for more labor. Mike Kenagy, President of the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association (LOMDA), said he regularly hears from Lake-area dealers about the shortage. "We do recognize that need," he said, pointing to annual scholarship provided by LOMDA for one student per year who attends Camdenton R-III School District's Lake Career & Technical Center (LCTC). The technical school has a marine tech training program, and LOMDA has even grown the total scholarship package amount this year, to $2,500. That includes money for training, equipment, and a bonus for students who opt to stay at Lake of the Ozarks and work for a local marina/dealer. But Kenagy says there's not been much competition for the scholarship, and that some years LOMDA has struggled to find a student who wants to pursue that kind of training and would be eligible for the scholarship.

LOMDA has also begun discussing an apprenticeship program with LCTC, as a way to connect more young people with good-paying jobs at the Lake. He pointed out, "A good tech can make $50-80,000."

LCTC also recently announced it had partnered with Yamaha, to bolster its marine tech training program. Now, students who complete that program will have a leg-up on job opportunities in the marine industry—both locally and nationally—with the additional certification provided by Yamaha's partnership.

At the announcement of that partnership in mid-January, Drew Schenck, Director of Marketing at Surdyke Yamaha & Marina in Osage Beach, told LakeExpo.com he was excited to hear the news, saying something MRAA President Gruhn would emphasize in Washington D.C. a couple of weeks later. "The boat business is taking off," Schenck said in January, "but it’s such a difficult industry to have good technical help... It gets harder and harder to find good technicians."

In Washington, NMMA President Thomas J. Dammrich also reported on the recreational boating industry’s financial rebound, or “long road back,” said Dammrich, since the Great Recession. With the economy doing well, sales are up and reports from winter boat shows are positive. He also shared ideas on what Congress can do to support this important sector of US manufacturing.

As the boat owner’s advocate, BoatUS Vice President of Government Affairs Chris Edmonston spoke about the need for legislator support for recreational boating access, and specifically, the Water Resources Development Act which helps maintain the navigability of waterways by providing funds for dredging.

Edmonston also spoke to the success of boating safety education in reducing accidents and fatalities, and the need to revamp US Coast Guard licensing to better address the needs of recreational boaters. "The current licensing system was never intended for recreational boaters," said Edmonston.

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