On Friday, March 24, 2017, there was much to celebrate at the Steel Trades shop on the BCIT Burnaby Campus: the first Marine Fitter Level 3 graduation, the conclusion of the pilot phase of the Marine Fitter program, and the BCIT Marine Fitter apprenticeship program soon accepting applications. Kathy Kinloch, President, BCIT, Jonathan Whitworth, CEO, Seaspan, Gary Herman, CEO, ITA, Wayne Hand, Dean, School of Construction and the Environment (SoCE) along with Laurie Therrien, Manager, Industry Services, Peter Thomas, Instructor, Metal Fabrication and Marine Fitter and James Cai, Associate Dean, Industrial Construction were all there to share their congratulatory remarks and present each one from the graduating class a statement of completion and the coveted SoCE jacket.
Marine Fitter is an Industry Training Authority (ITA) endorsement that builds on the foundational trades of Metal Fabrication and Boilermaker. The program will prepare apprentices for work in shipyard production, including assembly of ship components such as hull frames and stringers, hatches and covers, decking and deck structures, and cabins.
The end of the Marine Fitter pilot phase is marked with the celebration of the first graduating class of the Marine Fitter Level 3. The graduating class was made up of 11 experienced shipyard Metal Fabricators, most of whom work for Seaspan. This group of students greatly contributed to the development of the program through their helpful and enthusiastic structured feedback. Other pilot classes, not yet graduated, included Boilermakers and apprentices without shipyard experience. The program was a hit with every demographic, reporting that it either helped their shipyard work or prepared them well to work in the marine sector.
BCIT has been working on the Marine Fitter program with its partners for several years. Now that the pilot phase has ended, the evolution into the regular BCIT training plan has begun. The program could not have reached this point without the support of industry, especially Seaspan, the Industry Training Authority, Ministry of Advanced Education, Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS) and Camosun College.