Answering The Call For Skilled And Professional Subcontractors

The demand for skilled workers and lack of availability is not a new issue for boatyards. The industry has been working through this for many years. But as the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a booming boating business it also created an even greater demand for skilled workers. Organizations and boatyards themselves are stepping up to fill the void and make sure boaters have a choice of reliable, professional, and skilled workers to tackle any boat problem.

The challenge of filling the void of skilled workers is at the forefront of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) that has a mission to provide technical training to both professionals and entry-level people alike. Like every business, ABYC saw challenges arise when COVID-19 hit and mandated social distancing, and while they overcame obstacles and flourished, the organization remains cognizant that the new boating boom means there is greater need for boat repairs from an industry already starved for an adequate workforce.

“Registrations rose so there will be more boats to take care of and many more hours are being put on boats this year. All service techs and mechanics that boatyards use will be busier. We already had a deficit in those working on boats and we’re going to have a bigger deficit. The industry has to let people know this is a career and viable,” Margaret Podlich, executive director of the ABYC Foundation said.

New Distance Learning Plan
With a host of classes, online courses, curriculums, and textbooks ABYC stands ready to educate. However, COVID-19 forced ABYC to cancel all classes for the remainder of the year and schools using their curriculum were left with no option for hands-on learning and instruction.

ABYC got creative and transformed their classroom training for professionals from participants traveling to a location for in-person training for several days to online training that lasted for 90 minutes, three days a week for a few weeks at a time. “Suddenly the tech has billable hours at their job and then they go online and participate–no travel costs, no lost work time. We have reached people around the world who have never traveled to a class,” Podlich said. She also commented that the pass rate on the final exams has gone up 15 percent.

ABYC also expanded its weekly webinar series as they saw the 500-seat limit for the audience hit maximum for several sessions. “We added more webinars, although we’ve slowed a bit for the summer. We plan on growing that aspect of our training in the fall or winter,” Podlich said.

For entry-level training, the challenge has been a bit greater. ABYC Foundation works with high schools, community colleges and technical schools to put marine repair into the curriculum. They sell schools a standard curriculum and textbooks that are used for in-person learning. With schools shut down, the traditional methods had to change. “I had teachers calling me to say their textbooks were locked in their classroom and they weren’t allowed to go back in,” Podlich said. ABYC responded by putting the textbooks online for both students and teachers to access.

Coincidentally, ABYC had developed a workbook early in the summer meant to reinforce all the concepts from the textbook. The workbook became the perfect companion providing exercises that could be used for at-home assignments.

To bring more interest to online learning, Podlich is also on a mission to gather industry videos on everything from how to do a fiberglass repair to best practices in customer service. She hopes to have a list of available links ready to share with teachers who, in turn, can share with their students. Teachers are already challenged with learning new methods of teaching and preparing for the new year, so Podlich hopes to ease the burden by doing the legwork and building a video library for them.

Seeing how the audience for technical marine training has grown through the necessity of online classes, Podlich says sparks hope that the potential skilled workers could be out there, they may have just been deterred by travel costs and lost work time.

Customer Service Training
Lauderdale Marine Center (LMC) in Fort Lauderdale takes the training and development of subcontractors a step further, recognizing that technical skills are just part of the recipe. A sound business that adheres to safety and environmental protocols, excels in customer service, and assures quality, is the winning combination that LMC looks for in its subcontractors and works to help them achieve.

In March 2019, after three months of development and discussions with their existing subcontractors, tenants and customers, a new set of standards was issued for subcontractors who wanted to work at LMC. While there are sections of the new standards that are not the same as other boatyards, Doug West, president of LMC, maintains the requirements are simple and common sense. The business must be registered in Florida or another state, have general liability and ship repair liability insurance, provide warranties, and have a quality control program. A list of employees must be supplied with evidence all are covered under Workers Compensation insurance, and all employees must go through OSHA’s shipyard safety program, which LMC offers at no charge.

Subcontractors need to supply a schedule and estimates, along with a contract, to customers prior to doing any work. LMC provides templates for all items like contracts, code of conduct and estimates so businesses just need to plug in their company information. “We put a lot of thought into this program before we rolled it out. We knew some would have trouble complying, but we want to give everyone a chance to work here,” West said. “At the same time, we want to make sure companies are taking care of customers the same way we are.” In total, 633 companies applied and to date, 270 are authorized.

Customer service is also front and center for LMC employees and now also a part of subcontractor training. LMC launched Raising the Bar last September as an internal program to explain the customer journey, the different touch points with each department and employee he has along that journey, and how what happens along the way influences whether the customer will return. Because LMC wants its subcontractors to treat boaters with the same respect and efficiency that LMC staff provides, LMC is extending Raising the Bar to its subcontractors as a free training and part of the overall standards that the facility has adopted.

“A shipyard isn’t really fun place for crews or the boat owners. The crew didn’t sign up to sit around a yard and the owner doesn’t want to spend that much money. We try to take the pain away,” West said.

The course covers everything from statistics on why customers make the decisions they do and choose to make referrals, to what behaviors should be adopted in the presence of customers to gain their trust. The teaching extends to not just keeping boaters happy, but also employees. “If you keep employees happy, that transfers to their customer service,” West said.

Having reliable subcontractors has become a more crucial aspect for LMC under pandemic shutdowns. Many of their boaters have been unable or unwilling to travel to the Mediterranean for the summer so either stayed in Florida or went back and forth between Florida and the Bahamas. That meant more boats on the docks and more need for service. Service also increased as boat sales rose. “We had a lot more surveys by potential buyers—30 to 40 percent more than is typical,” West said. He estimates business will be up 15 percent over last summer and says all LMC’s tenants have stayed busy throughout the pandemic.

The challenge has been finding the workers. “All of our tenants are hiring, but finding good help is a challenge,” West said. The people that work on the more technical front doing engine or electrical work need courses and certificates and those who do painting and carpentry need experience. Finding employees with either classroom or hands-on experience is difficult and something West says should spark more development of training and apprenticeship programs.