When you think “Yamaha,” it would stand to reason that your mind turns to power, speed, precision, and all sorts of fun.
But Yamaha, in 2023, showed Georgia, as well as Pennsylvania and New York, that Yamaha is serious business, serious innovation – and a serious route to security and success.
On Dec. 6, Yamaha announced that the Yamaha Marine Technical School Partnership program added three new schools to its list of participants, bringing the total number to 120 nationwide.
According to the release, the program was developed in 2015 to develop a stronger marine technician workforce through a certified curriculum, Yamaha system access and product donations used in the classroom for hands-on training.
The three newest partners in the program are Hart County High School in Hartwell, Georgia, the Monroe Career & Technical Institute in Bartonsville, Pennsylvania, and Suffolk County Community College in Selden, New York.
The two-part curriculum includes “Introduction to Outboard Systems,” for students who wish to start a career as a marine industry technician. Students who successfully complete the course receive Yamaha Marine’s Introduction to Outboard Systems Certification, which is a prerequisite for Yamaha’s new Maintenance Certification Program (MCP), which is based on the 20, 100-, 300-, 500- and 1,000-hour maintenance procedures for Yamaha Outboards. MCP students will leave the Yamaha Technical School Partner with certified maintenance competencies that prepare them to be immediately profitable in Yamaha dealership service departments.
“We understand the importance of providing exciting educational opportunities for students by offering programs such as marine technician training,” said Kenyon Ward, Senior Marine Training Coordinator, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit. “Yamaha’s hands-on training curriculum gives students real-world experiences and further broadens the education opportunities schools can bring to the table.”
And speaking of the Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, earlier this year, the facility, which is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, opened the new Yamaha Marine Innovation Center, also in Kennesaw.
Governor Brian Kemp and Kennesaw mayor Derek Easterling attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the 75,280 square foot facility, which now houses the Yamaha Marine Connected Division as well as Yamaha U.S. Marine Development, Yamaha Marine Product Management and Yamaha Marine Technical Marketing.
“We believe Georgia is an exceptional location for business growth and development. The Marine Innovation Center represents the fourth major Yamaha facility in the state, joining Yamaha’s Marine headquarters in Kennesaw, the Yamaha Motorsports and Intelligent Machinery Group headquarters in Marietta, and the Yamaha Motor Corporation manufacturing facility in Newnan,” said Ben Speciale, President, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit.
Yamaha career opportunities within Marine Connected Division include business planning, user experience, IoT/Cloud Infrastructure, product planning, data analysis, sales and marketing positions. Positions within the Yamaha U.S. Marine Development, Product Management and Marine Technical Marketing Division include control engineers, perception engineers, product development engineers, project managers, hydrodynamics engineers and various software engineers.
“According to the Outdoor Industry Association, recreational businesses bring over $27 billion to Georgia’s economy every year and employ around 238,000 people,” said Kemp.
Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, based in Kennesaw, Ga., markets and sells marine outboard motors ranging in size from 2.5 to 450 horsepower. It also markets and sells fiberglass, jet-drive sport boats ranging from 19 to 27 feet, and personal watercraft.
For more information about the Yamaha Technical School Partnership program or to find a Yamaha TSP school partner near you, contact [email protected].
You can read the full press release on the Technical School Partnership program here and the company’s announcement regarding the Marine Innovation Center here.
