New industry support initiatives from the Marina Industries Association

Suzanne Davies presenting the initiatives at the Club Marine Marina of the Year Awards Dinner © Marina Industries Association

It was not only Award winners that were revealed at the Club Marine Marina of the Year Awards dinner on Tuesday night, as the Marina Industry Association (MIA) CEO, Suzanne Davies outlined three initiatives the MIA is leading the charge on as it positions to support a buoyant industry to maximise its potential.

Known for its comprehensive, quality industry education and training, the MIA will now deliver its courses through the newly created Marina Training Institute brand. "The branding of our training and education under the Marina Training Institute gives our educational programs that additional recognition and credibility they deserve. The name is deliberately aligned with the Global Marina Institute which accredits our professional marina operators, managers and professionals globally, and which the MIA, along with British Marine founded in 2011." Davies also alluded to a suite of new online short courses to assist marinas inducting new employees into their jobs. There are five courses in the suite which will provide employees with best practice instruction around work health safety, environmental compliance and incident response.

In line with its focus on building a strong workforce, Davies also shared that the Marina Industries Association (MIA), in partnership with the Boating Industry Association (BIA) and Superyacht Australia will soon launch Marine Jobs. Marine Jobs is a 'career centre' dedicated to the broader marine industry to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment processes for employers and increase employee retention by providing a dedicated platform to connect industry employers with qualified job seekers. Davies explained, "Marine industry recruitment has always been a pain point for employers because until now we have been a very diverse recruitment market where a vast range of recruitment tools are used. We will now have a single recruitment portal for our industry to list every job available in the sector. Marine Jobs' primary function is a recruitment platform, and it will also provide a range of career resources, including information on apprenticeships and industry training, writing a resume and preparing for an interview."

The final initiative announced was My Marina Guide, an online map-based marine services directory that will enable users to easily search for marinas and maintenance facilities by location by simply zooming in on a map. The tool will be a valuable passage planning tool for boaters and a great way to find facilities, services, and products by location. Davies noted, "This is the first time that the MIA will communicate with the boating public, and it will provide a great resource to find boater needs by location, showcase the facilities of our members and give greater exposure to our programs such as Gold Anchor and Clean Marinas." The website will be launched by August and it is hoped that an App may follow soon after.

MIA President Andrew Chapman wrapped it up noting that, "The MIA has for a long time provided exceptional industry support through training and education, research, industry accreditation and leadership. As our industry matures and we are seeing unprecedented growth, it is time to step up and take our support to the next level.