Maritime | 253 Focus Areas

Maritime|253 will be a key player in our South Puget Sound Region's workforce development goals, with intentional programming to prime a professional pipeline to the maritime industry. The maritime industry focuses on technical and operational skills, safety and environmental awareness, leadership and management, digitalization and innovation, and diversity and inclusion. The industry requires a skilled workforce to ensure safe and efficient maritime operations. Our training programs will also take into consideration reducing carbon emissions, pollution prevention, and waste management, as well as promoting effective collaboration and communication. Our programming will also emphasize digital transformation, data analytics, automation, and cybersecurity to optimize operations. Most importantly, Maritime|253 will promote diversity and inclusion in recruitment and hiring practices, remove barriers and increase equity of access. Training in cultural awareness and sensitivity is necessary for building a more inclusive and equitable maritime industry.

Our first-objective foci are listed below:

Skilled & Technical Trades

The maritime industry includes a vast range of skilled and technical trades, and our South Puget Sound Skills Center will provide experiences that include credentials, certificates, and apprenticeships. Opportunities within this pathway will potentially include a collection of construction trades (carpentry, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, and masonry) in addition to advanced applications of welding and manufacturing. As students expand their knowledge through training and hands-on experiences that lie in and above the water.

Transportation & Logistics

With intentional scope, our South Puget Sound Skills Center will encompass all aspects of warehousing and logistics with emphasis on the process of inventorying, distributing, storing, transporting, and managing goods in a global economy - across land, sea, and air. This career pathway consists of experiences that lead to becoming certified operators working on ships, trains, docks, and in warehouses with intentional opportunities to support each participant with personalized choice.

Technology & Innovation

Technology, both in the form of tools and application play a substantial role in the future of the maritime industry. Our regional skills center will include pathways that highlight credential opportunities in a marine environment that align to our workforce's current and evolving needs. Certificates and advanced application in the realm of cyber security, logistic programming, Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV), and Drones (aerial and under water) will take front and center as opportunities to maximize possibility.

Sustainability 

Maritime sustainability hinges on undivided support throughout the entire maritime industry, with a focus on environmental stewardship. Our South Puget Sound skills Center will foster the practice of sustainable use cases in all maritime environments. Our exploratory pathways encompass a multitude of disciplines: renewable/alternative fuels, waste and emission reduction, material procurement, and retrofitting throughout multiple ecosystems.