MEDIA CONTACTS:
Susan Daly (401-848-5777, ext 220 / sdaly@iyrs.org)
Cynthia Goss (203-453-2731 / media@iyrs.org)
 
For Immediate Release
 

IYRS Launches One-Year Program in Marine Systems
Program Developed with ABYC to Meet Industry Demand, Keep Pace with Technology

 
Newport (RI) January 31, 2007 — The International Yacht Restoration School is known around the world for training fine craftsmen in the art of wooden boat building and restoration. With a new one-year program in marine systems that launches this year, IYRS is expanding its educational programs to cover the full range of onboard systems for all types of boats: sail and power, classic and modern.
 
The IYRS Marine Systems Program will offer comprehensive training in installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting onboard systems such as electrical, electronic, steering, plumbing, and propulsion. Developed in cooperation with the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC)—the organization that develops the safety standards for boat building and repair and serves as a national leader in marine education and certification—the program was created to meet the industry's demand for skilled workers and to keep students in step with changing technology.
 
IYRS' systems courses are now offered as individual modules at the school's new satellite facility in Bristol (R.I.). In fall 2007, these modules will be fused into a full-time, one-year program.
 
According to IYRS President Terry Nathan, the seeds of the program started with the marine industry. The school both consulted with boat builders and yards and surveyed companies on a nationwide basis to document the industry's needs for training. To develop the program, IYRS worked closely with the Rhode Island Marines Trades Association (RIMTA) and ABYC, the organization that co-wrote the course curriculum. 
 
The systems program is designed to be state-of-the-art: the curriculum will be altered to keep pace with changing technology and the facility at Bristol will remain current with technological trends to make this program a "laboratory" for systems education.
 
"Working with ABYC and RIMTA has enabled us to develop a program that is truly built around industry needs," said Nathan. "The combination of IYRS, an international standards authority like ABYC, and the industry itself has been a very powerful mix: it's given birth to a program that we hope will become a valuable training resource on a national scale."
 
ABYC curriculum developer Ed Sherman used the ABYC standards to build the course's framework, but he factored data IYRS gathered from the industry to determine what topic areas to focus on and what weight to give each topic. Graduates of the program will be prepared to sit for the appropriate ABYC certification exams, a national program of certification designed to ensure quality and professionalism in boat building and repair.
 
ABYC and IYRS will remain engaged in an ongoing relationship, and it will be ABYC’s job to continually assist in updating course content to reflect new technology and the latest standards. 
 
"The IYRS course will serve as a curriculum development laboratory, which will create an open-minded and progressive learning environment," said Sherman. "This will ensure that IYRS maintains a dynamic curriculum, which is updated in real time.  It will truly follow the pulse of the industry."
 
In cooperation with IYRS, ABYC will ultimately be able to offer this curriculum to select schools in other regions. But the IYRS program will remain the central curriculum development laboratory and the first to incorporate new course content that reflects the latest shifts in technology.
 
The International Yacht Restoration School transformed a once-abandoned section of Newport’s waterfront into a center for maritime education. In addition to its systems program, the school offers a two-year accredited program in traditional boat building and restoration, as well as Continuing Education courses. IYRS’ waterfront campus on Thames Street includes the 1831 Aquidneck mill building, now slated for restoration to accommodate a growing demand for IYRS programs; the campus is also the site of the restoration of the 1885 schooner yacht Coronet. IYRS maintains a satellite facility in Bristol (R.I.).
 
ABYC has been developing, writing and updating the safety standards for boat building and repair in the United States for over 50 years.  ABYC is actively involved with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as well as education and certification programs for marine technicians.  These standards are available on CD-ROM, online (Web-STIR) and in printed form. 

For more information on ABYC, visit the organization's Web site at www.abycinc.org.
 
For more information on the IYRS Marine Systems Program, contact Clark Poston (401-848-5777, ext 210 / clark@iyrs.org) or visit the school's Web site at www.iyrs.org.