CFCC partners with Yamaha for new training program

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Community College is helping give their students a leg up in the workforce. CFCC announced their partnership with Yamaha Thursday morning.

The college offers an introductory course right now to train marine technicians, and the program is only growing.

The program is designed to give students a hands-on opportunity to develop skills that they can directly apply in a job. Students will come out with a certification to work directly at a Yamaha shop or another dealership.

As part of the partnership, Yamaha has already donated two motors for students to work with. The company says the market is hot for skilled laborers rights now, especially in Wilmington.

“As our technicians get older and they’re retiring and moving out, we have no young, skilled labor coming in to replace that. So, that’s created the problem as well, of the fact that the industry is just growing that fast at this point.” said Mark Harden, of Yamaha.

Harden says that students coming out of this program will be eligible for jobs at a dealership, with the opportunity to move up. In a market like Wilmington, he says students could expect a starting salary from $15-18 per hour.

The program is a work in progress right now. A second introductory course will be introduced in January, and CFCC plans to keep advancing the curriculum.