June 26, 2023

ABYC Lead Instructor Mike Bonicker judges a competition at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference

This past week the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) was participating in and judging student Marine Service Technology competitions at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, June 19-23 in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual event serves as a platform to recognize and celebrate the nation’s finest career and technical education students, with over 110 competitions and 10,000 participants in attendance.

ABYC’s involvement, alongside long-time ABYC member Yamaha, includes supporting the marine service technology competitions.

“We are thrilled to once again be a part of this exciting event to honor the achievements of aspiring trade professionals,” said David Broadbent, ABYC education director. “By exhibiting and judging, ABYC aims to showcase the marine industry and highlight the fantastic career opportunities it offers.”

The Marine Service Technology competition, scheduled for last Thursday, included individual skill stations and a written or online test. The hands-on test stations include many aspects of two-stroke and four-stroke outboard, sterndrive and inboard troubleshooting and repair. ABYC developed a station to test the competitor’s electrical knowledge, with ABYC lead instructor Mike Bonicker serving as a judge. Participants must wire a bilge-pump circuit properly, demonstrating their understanding of ABYC standards concerning wire sizing, identification and overcurrent protection. They must also correctly crimp on an electrical terminal to withstand the ABYC standards pull-test requirement.

In addition to the marine technology competition, the SkillsUSA event also featured welding, construction trades, manufacturing, transportation, health care, hospitality, human services and more.

Contact ABYC to find out how you can get involved in SkillsUSA and help support the next generation of talent in the marine industry.

To learn more about the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference visit www.nlsc.skillsusa.org. To learn about ABYC’s resources for schools to establish or enhance marine service programs visit www.teachboats.org.