• Tidewater Community College

Virginia Beach, VA

• Consolidates education criteria for specific maritime occupations.
• Develops career pathways and education programs.
• Facilitates the portability of credentials among employers.
• Lays the groundwork for future industry-developed certifications.
• Promotes awareness of careers in maritime, transportation, and logistics among students attending high schools, community colleges, and 4-year institutions.

Curricula Will Serve as National Model

SMART Center—a consortium of community colleges, business and industry, led by Tidewater Community College—will serve as a regional education resource and an economic model for preparing a sustainable, globally prepared maritime and transportation workforce for the 21st century. Going forward, maritime and transportation knowledge will be critical for careers in shipbuilding, ship repair, seamanship, port management, and logistics.
The center will link registered journeyman and apprentice programs with academic credentials. In this way students earning career studies certificates, which will be embedded in degree programs, can accumulate credits toward associate and baccalaureate degrees.

SMART Center Prepares Maritime & Transportation Workforce

As a critical engine for the U.S. economy, the maritime industry accounts for $2 trillion worth of domestic and international cargo. To prepare the future workforce responsible for handling cargo in the nation’s ports, SMART Center will integrate curriculum and program development with the promotion of advanced technological careers in the maritime and transportation industries. It will focus on preparing technicians for employment at the specialist and trainer levels. Individuals who work at these levels are highly skilled and are able to mentor co-workers.
The center intends to work with industry to address current workforce shortages, improve the efficiency of small U.S. shipyards, complete critical hydrographic surveys and chart programs, and fill the expected vacancies in the maritime workforce in the near future.

SMART Center Builds Career Pathways

The center plans to generate awareness about maritime and transportation careers and work with the industries to improve linkages between their employee education efforts and college programs. SMART Center will offer workshops to inform K-12 teachers about maritime and transportation careers, and the skills employers require. Workshops will also be held for industry partners to learn how to start apprenticeship programs that mesh with colleges’ academic credentials.

SMART Center Programs Encompass New Technologies

Among its proactive strategies for emerging technologies, the center plans to develop programs for technicians who will work at offshore wind farms, in research and development, in nuclear energy, and in marine composite material construction and maintenance. The center also plans to develop programs to raise awareness of other new maritime and transportation technologies.