Catch The Wave
Would you like to be part of an industry that’s on the move?
Then CATCH THE WAVE of training and employment opportunities with the Marine Trades Industry in Baltimore County!
Recreational boating is big business in Eastern Baltimore County.
Did you know?
- There are over 70 marinas, boatyards, and yacht clubs in Eastern Baltimore County.
- Boaters spend over $220 million annually in Baltimore County to maintain and operate their boats, and over $2 billion in Maryland.
- Recreational boating represents a major activity in Maryland and has grown significantly over the past decade with over 220,800 registered boaters in Maryland.
- Recreational boating in Maryland directly accounts for 19,900 full time equivalent jobs in Maryland and indirectly a total of 28,200 according to a 2000 study.
- Among all counties, Anne Arundel and Baltimore dominate spending, accounting for 34% of boating business.
Because boating is so uniquely tied to the bays, rivers, and the ocean, the location of spending patterns it creates are unique and significant to the locales in which they occur.
Employment Opportunities
In the Marine Trades Industry, you can build upon a variety of entry level skills through apprenticeship and on-the-job training experiences. The industry encourages and rewards employees with multiple skill sets who can become skilled employees.
Some examples of job classifications include:
 Entry-Level Occupations ($7 - $9/hour)
Yard Technicians
Painters
Semi-Skilled Occupations ($9 - $15/hour)
Marine Maintenance Technician
Fiberglass Repair Technician
Forklift/Travel Lift Operator
Sailboat Rigger
Skilled Occupations ($15 - $25/hour)
Electronics Repair Technician
Custom Cabinetmaker/Carpenter
Experienced Marine Maintenance
Technician
Experienced Fiberglass Repair
Technician
Experienced Sailboat Rigger
The top five occupations: mechanical repair, structural repair, yard personnel, rigger, and electrical repair, account for 73% of all reported repair workers with 83% of these positions full-time permanent workers.
Benefits
The main benefit of working in the Marine Trades Industry is the opportunity to work in a pleasant recreational environment that provides great variety and flexibility. Marine Trades workers can wear casual attire; test run boats; work outdoors around the water; work with a variety of boats, engines or models; overhaul or refurbish boats; express themselves through design, fabrication, and creativity; perform computer diagnostic work and work in a marina.
High School Training Connections
While Marine Trades is not a specific career completer training program, many career and technical programs provide instruction and related skills sets. These skills can be transferred to an industry mentored internship or capstone work-experience the senior year of high school or upon graduation.
Essential Skill Sets
In addition to good attendance, teamwork, decision making, problem solving, communication and interpersonal skills, workers in the Marine Trades often require mechanical ability and the ability to work independently. Specialty skills in the Marine Trades are listed below:
- Boat Design Construction
- Fiberglass Construction and Repair
- Engine Theory, Maintenance and Troubleshooting
- Marine Systems
- Shop Safety
- Boating Safety, Handling and Basic Navigation
- Metalworking
- Plumbing/Electrical Systems
- Marina Operations
- Wood Joinery
- Finishes
- Environmental Compliance
Certifications and Ratings
Continued training and experiences can lead to specialized certifications and ratings by the American Boat and Yacht Council Standards, (ABYC) industry best practices of the American Boat Builders and Repairer’s Association (ABBRA) and/or manufactures like Mercury Marine, Yamaha, and Volvo Penta.
Several Baltimore County Public Schools’ Technical Programs offer completer programs that provide skills that correlate with Marine Trades occupational skills sets:
Sollers Point Technical High School: Automotive Service Technology, Automotive Collision Repair, Carpentry Careers, Electrical Careers, Industrial Engineering
Dundalk, Overlea, & Perry Hall High Schools: Construction Craft Technician
Eastern Technical High School: Automotive Service Technology and Construction Management
Kenwood High: Carpentry Careers
Overlea: HVAC and Welding
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