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Great Lakes Boat Building School
IT TAKES A Village
When it comes to workforce development, the Great Lakes Boat Building School brings the power of relationships to life.
by heather steinberger
The Great Lakes is home to many treasures, but when most recreational boaters think about the gems in the region’s crown, they understandably envision cruising destinations like the North Channel, Door County and Put-in-Bay. They might not realize that one of those gems is a cornerstone of maritime workforce development.
The Great Lakes Boat Building School (GLBBS) sits in the small community of Cedarville, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula’s Les Cheneaux Islands. It’s the only fully accredited marine industry school in the Great Lakes, and since its 2005 inception, it has been dedicated to providing students with the hands-on instruction they need to build thriving careers.
But GLBBS is not doing it alone; it’s building relationships across the region, and across the marine industry, to successfully cultivate the next generation of craftspeople and technicians.
Dealers support career building
A vital component of the school’s mission is to deliver high-quality career and job placement services, and to do that effectively, the GLBBS team works closely with acclaimed Great Lakes boat dealers. According to Tom Coates, GLBBS director of development, 76-year-old Walstrom Marine — with Michigan locations in Harbor Springs, Bay Harbor, Cheboygan, Traverse City and Charlevoix — is one of those valued partners.
“They hired two of our alumni in fall 2021, and they told us they’d take four more!” Coates says. “[Founder and former owner] Ward Walstrom donated a vintage Chris-Craft to the school, and Dave Lesh, their director of service, is on the advisory board for our Marine Service Technology program.”
Williams Bay, Wisconsin-based Gage Marine is another important piece of the puzzle. The company, with roots in the Lake Geneva area that
Behind the wheel is George Van Sumeren, who graduated from GLBBS’ Comprehensive Career Boat Building program in 2021.
Top left: Members of the Walstrom Marine leadership team presented their contribution to the capital campaign. Two alumni, now Walstrom employees, joined them on the school visit.
Bottom left: GLBBS President Nikki Storey with graduate Brendan Adair, who now works for Gage Marine in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Opposite page: GLBBS students, instructors and staff aboard a Tiara Yacht in Holland, Michigan. Slikkers family members presented a check to support student sponsorships and the school expansion project.
At GLBBS, partnerships also give students vital hands-on experience, as well as opportunities to connect with future employers. The school has an exclusive partnership with Mercury that allows students to work toward becoming a certified Mercury technician (top and bottom); it also recently hosted a Marine Trade Showcase with Gage Marine (center).
go back to 1873, first connected with GLBBS when they hired graduate Brendan Adair.
“They loved Brendan,” Coates says. “He has the Mercury training and he can work on MasterCraft boats. They wanted to invest in him, which led to a sponsorship program.”
Through this sponsorship program, Gage Marine pays $10,000 toward tuition for one student. In return, that student makes a one-year work commitment. The first sponsorship recipient, Kyle Faner, will graduate in August and begin work at Gage Marine this September.
Seeking to reach more potential students and promote rewarding marine industry careers, GLBBS and Gage Marine hosted the Marine Trade Showcase in Williams Bay on April 26, 2022. Potential students and their families learned about the school’s yearlong Comprehensive Career Boat Building and the Marine Service Technology programs, both of which have 100% job placement records over the last six years.
The Gage Marine team provided tours of the showroom, marine service department, boat storage facility, wood shop and lakefront operations. Afterward, all participants enjoyed lunch at the waterfront restaurant Pier 290 and took a lake excursion aboard the famous U.S. Mailboat.
“We’re hoping to do another showcase in the fall,” Coates says. “This also has given us a template for other events in other locations.”
Manufacturers get involved in education
Dealers aren’t the only partners involved with GLBBS. One of the school’s most important relationships is with engine manufacturer Mercury Marine, based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
In January 2020, GLBBS and Mercury announced an exclusive partnership that would offer students a 12-month, 42-credit-hour Mercury Marine Maintenance Program. Upon completion, students receive a Mercury Maintenance Certificate, and their work will count toward becoming a certified Mercury technician once the student is employed by a Mercury dealer.
“Mercury told us our school workshops were the closest examples they’d ever seen to real workshops,” says Nikki Storey, GLBBS president. “They were impressed we were so hands-on rather than classroom-centric; 80% of our students’ time is spent working with their hands.”
The program began in September 2020. The first participants graduated in August 2021. Since then,
Storey says, the response to the Marine Service Technology Program has been overwhelming.
Another important relationship took shape in fall 2021, when GLBBS had a meeting with Tiara Yachts to discuss boat builder training and education. Tiara President/CEO Tom Slikkers and President Bob Slikkers traveled from their Holland, Michigan, headquarters to Cedarville to visit the school.
“We were so impressed with the Slikkers family,” Storey recalls. “They were so genuine and sincere. They wanted to know how they could help.”
Not only did Tiara sponsor the GLBBS entry to the 2022 Miami International Boat Show, the company invited students to visit the Holland manufacturing facility.
“That was an awesome experience for our students because they don’t always get exposure to the manufacturing side,” Storey says. “This helps them become more well-rounded professionals, and it sets a precedent for boat manufacturers getting involved in education.”
Tiara’s involvement didn’t stop there. During the GLBBS visit, the manufacturer presented the school with a $75,000 check. This amount would cover two $15,000 sponsorships, with the remaining $45,000 going toward a very special project at the school’s Cedarville home.
Looking toward a bright future
That special project is a 10,000-square-foot school expansion that will include new boat-docking infrastructure, additional marine training equipment and the funds to hire more staff. It also will fund a dedicated Marine Electronics Program, the first of its kind in the country. And, best of all, the school will be able to double the number of annual graduates over the next five years, bringing the total from 24 to 50.
“We got accredited right before the COVID pandemic began,” Storey says. “But we didn’t have a lot of space, so we applied for a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant.”
They got it, an EDA grant for $2.7 million. It’s an 80-20 matching grant, so GLBBS has to raise 20% of the funds.
“We’ve launched a $1.1 million capital campaign to cover that $686,000, as well as unfunded items such as furniture and some equipment,” Storey says. “We’ve raised $540,000 so far, which is outstanding.”
Donors include Tiara Yachts with its $45,000 contribution, and Walstrom Marine gave $25,000. The local community has been supportive as well.
“This is all about relationships, and we’re so grateful to everyone supporting us,” Coates says. “They’ve made a huge commitment to our school.”
The GLBBS team anticipates breaking ground on the new 10,000-square-foot facility in September 2022, with construction to follow in spring 2023 and a grand opening next fall. Eventually, Storey says, she hopes to increase the number of graduates from 50 to 100.
“Employers know that we only graduate the very best, so our students go on to good-paying jobs in so many great places,” she says. “I’m excited for them. They have such a bright future.”
To learn more about Great Lakes Boat Building School and its programs, visit GLBBS.EDU. To support the capital campaign, visit GLBBS.SALSALABS.
