Join the EDC to learn about careers on the water

||| FROM MICHELANGELO (MICKEY) VON DASSOW |||

People interested in careers on the water are invited to join the EDC for an online Maritime Career Fair, March 31 at noon to 1 p.m., held over Zoom. You will learn about seafaring careers that work here in San Juan County. Presenters will include a representative from the whale watch and boat insurance industries, a representative from Puget Sound Pilots, representatives from Washington State Ferries, and others.

The meeting will be held via Zoom so you can attend from anywhere, even with just your phone. To register, please visit the EDC’s website at www.sanjuansedc.org/maritimecareers. Participants must be 18 years old or older. For more information, email the EDC Trades Coordinator at mickey@sanjuansedc.org.

Residents of San Juan County who attend the career fair are invited to apply for coaching and financial support to defray costs of obtaining their Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC). The EDC will pay for successful applicants’ TWIC card and MMC applications, and for the Coast Guard physical and drug test, and assist applicants through the process.  The number of awards will depend on funds available, and the EDC gratefully invites donors to support the program; please visit www.sanjuansedc.org/mariner for more information.

This program is made possible by the generosity of private donors, and grants from San Juan County, the Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor, the Raynier Institute and Foundation, the Harvest Foundation, and other funders of the EDC’s Trades Training Initiative and our Adopt a Future Mariner Program. The EDC offers special thanks to the Boden, Corbin, Levinson, Madsen, and VanHyning families, and the many other individual donors whose support was critical to launching training programs in 2021 and 2022.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) strives to support small rural enterprises, and conduct projects to stimulate new job creation, strengthen the economic base for working families, and support overall quality of life for islanders.