June 23, 2026 — The first cohort of high school students in the Maritime Vessel Operations program, a partnership between the Port of Everett, Maritime Institute, and Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center, graduated on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
The nine students who successfully completed the program are now eligible to join any United States merchant vessel at the entry level, having secured industry-recognized certifications, including a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) and Certification of Watchkeepers (STCW-95).
Students also learned engine room familiarization, personal survival techniques, watchkeeper/navigation introduction, vessel security, crowd management, maritime electrical systems, outboard engine maintenance, diesel/gas and electrical engine maintenance, marine plumbing, and more.
Hands-on learning through site visits, marine firefighting and personal survival courses, and working to restore an old sailboat was a major component of the class. As a final requirement, students were required to complete 100 hours of on-the-job training through internships or apprenticeships at local maritime companies.
The graduation marked an important milestone in the Port of Everett’s workforce development efforts. Sign-ups for next year’s program have already quadrupled in size.
“Congratulations to the inaugural graduating class of this first-of-its-kind maritime workforce development program,” Port of Everett CEO/Executive Director Lisa Lefeber said. “This achievement reflects years of collaboration and the Port’s commitment to workforce development. With our partners Maritime Institute and Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center, we are proud to help create direct pathways for the next generation of mariners that help keep local talent local.”
This graduating class has been years in the making.
Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center, a cooperative effort of 15 local school districts throughout the County offering students preparatory training, certification, and post-high school credit, was instrumental in bringing the partnership to life for its expertise in providing career and technical education classes that align with Washington state graduation standards. This partnership program was its first-ever maritime-focused career pathway.
“We are so excited to celebrate our first completing class in the Maritime Vessel Operations class at Sno-Isle TECH,” Wes Allen, Director of Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center, said. “These students are prepared for amazing success in the maritime industry with the experience and industry recognized credentials that will set them apart from their peers in the industry. This couldn’t have been done without the strong partnership and support of the Maritime Institute and the Port of Everett. We look forward to the continued growth and development of this program at the Port to meet the needs of our business and industry partners while preparing our graduates for long term success.”
The pilot program was a first for Maritime Institute, too. Already an industry leader in providing mariner education for adults, the Maritime Vessel Operations course was the first time the company has offered a high school student option. The curriculum adapted
Maritime Institute’s U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approved “Mariner Bootcamp” program – historically only offered to adults as an 8-week intensive course – into a year-long program tailored to fit the schedule of the high school skill center programming and aligned with core competencies required for graduation.
“The only way that this program was successful was because of the Port of Everett’s support, along with Sno-Isle TECH and Maritime Institute; we were all able to come together and make a cohesive plan,” Brian Hennessy, the instructor for the course, said. “I hope that other Coast Guard-approved education facilities take the hint here that this is a good way to bring our children into the maritime field. The average mariner is in their late 50s, and we need a new generation to get out there and take to the seas.”
Many of the internship opportunities turned into job offers. The Port hired three students for its seasonal maintenance team, and local employers like Everett Ship Repair and Western Towboat hired students as well. Other students have accepted roles on Bristol Bay fishing boats, smaller shipyards, or are pursuing careers in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Student Impact
Dylan Rose knew she wanted to go into welding as a career. After meeting a representative from Everett Ship Repair at a career fair, she completed an internship with them and received a job offer as an apprentice that she will start after graduation.
“Initially, I knew I wanted to do welding, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go. This class changed that – now I’ll be working in a shipyard,” Rose said. “I think there are so many opportunities on ships, and I think that it’s a great field.”
Her classmate, Sidney Nash, is also going to work in a shipyard after graduation. He hopes to become a marine mechanic and said the class opened his eyes to a whole new field. He learned even more about the maritime industry through his on-the-job training with the Port; the Port hired three students from the class as part of its seasonal maintenance team, including Nash.
“I wouldn’t know anything about this; it’s kind of a hidden industry,” Nash said. “I didn’t know just how much work there is, and how many workers we need. I was thinking that I was going to be a security officer, and now that I’ve gotten to be on boats, I think this is going to be my career.”
Luca Conti, another student in the class, echoed his fellow classmates’ surprise at the wide range of opportunities in maritime.
“The class really showed me that there are so many things you can do on the water – you can be an engineer, you can be a chef, you can captain a boat if that’s what you want to do,” Conti said. “I didn’t realize that before I took the class.”
Fellow student Wesley Wise encouraged other students to strongly consider the class. He plans to join the U.S. Coast Guard after high school.
“This will be the best decision you’ve made in a while, and there are hundreds of different paths you can go on,” Wise said. “You can dive into stuff you like – research ships, mechanics, Coast Guard cutters – you do pretty much anything you like on the water. And anything you do on shore, you can get paid more to do it more on a boat.”
The Future of the Program
The Maritime Vessel Operations course will continue next year and has nearly quadrupled in size to its maximum. Approximately 36 students have signed up for the course, and Suquamish Tribe has expressed interest in adding a program for its young people.
The program works with regional maritime employers to facilitate site visits, externships, or apprenticeships. If you are interested in hosting future students, please contact Sarah Scherer (sscherer@maritimeinstitute.com) at Maritime Institute Everett or Trudy Swain (swaintl@mukilteo.wednet.edu) at Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center.
