Kitsap High School students participate in Maritime High School

Read full story on Kitsap Sun;  Northwest Maritime high school students could be a new hope for WSF workforce deficit

In a new program, Washington State Ferries is aiming to remedy its shortage of maritime workers by training high schoolers.

About a dozen 12th graders enrolled in Northwest Maritime and Highline Public School’s Maritime High School boarded a ferry leaving the Coleman Dock in Seattle on Wednesday. For the rest of the day, their second day of “Classroom on the Water,” the students would travel across Puget Sound, absorbing vessel operation skills and knowledge with hands-on learning and instruction from various instructors and WSF staff.

“We’re working with Ferries to make sure that we can have ferry workers and people in shipyards, people who keep the ferries running and running on time and with enough boats, as well as all the other maritime functions,” said Northwest Maritime CEO Jack Beattie.  READ MORE