Mountwest Maritime Academy Expands To Ohio

Mountwest Maritime Academy has opened a second training site, in Woodsfield, Ohio, with a plan to introduce both high school students and adults to the maritime industry.

The new location at Swiss Hills Innovation and Career Center, about a 10-minute drive from the Hannibal Locks and Dam on the Ohio River, will provide deckhand, radar and steersman training for adults and eventually hopes to add RosePoint training, said Sherri Sowards, the academy’s director. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held April 12 to officially open its doors.

High school students are participating in beginner and advanced deckhand training as part of the vocational/technical education offerings at the center.

Mountwest’s main campus is in Huntington, W.Va. Although that’s about a three-hour drive from Woodsfield, Sowards said the school believed it was the perfect opportunity for expansion.

Seven high school students participated in classes this year. They, along with students in welding classes and those learning other trades, put together a concrete training pad that simulates a four-barge tow in a two-by-two configuration.

Donors of kevels, bits, winches, ratchets, wires and other training aids have poured in from across the maritime industry, including from Ingram Barge Company, Marathon, Amherst Madison, McGinnis Inc., Borghese  Lane and Bellaire Harbor Service.

Two students, who will be graduating high school later this month, are already working for Bellaire Harbor Service part-time, with plans to continue in the industry full-time afterward.

Adult courses at the new facility are expected to begin this summer. These courses are both for people interested in becoming a part of the industry or those already a part of it who may be looking for additional certifications, she said.

The expansion into the Swiss Hills Innovation and Career Center is the first time the maritime academy has been able to provide classes in a high school setting, Sowards said. She said it has been especially rewarding to see students who might struggle in a traditional classroom setting but who are good working with their hands to find their niche and to build on their skillsets. Over time, she said, they are learning team-building and being entrusted with responsibilities, often for the first time.

The expansion was funded in part by an Ohio Powering Optimal Wages and Encouraging Retention (POWER) grant.

Ron Harrison, who serves as port captain and also oversees all aspects of Subchapter M work for Bellaire Harbor Service, is the instructor for both high school students and adults in the program at Swiss Hills.

He said the high school students at Swiss Hills already learned a lot through building their own concrete training pad.

“The students leveled the gravel off with their equipment,” he said. “They poured the concrete and made the concrete pad, and then the welding class came in and developed the pad and welded the pad up for us to use.”

Harrison said he has been impressed with the students he has worked with so far.

“They know the job market is wide open for maritime,” he said. “I tell them you’re three steps ahead of a person coming in who doesn’t have any training.”

Classwork has focused on learning river terminology as well as learning to correctly lay a wire. Students have also had the opportunity to board towboats as part of class field trips.

“I think it makes them more excited because they’ve actually seen what it’s like,” Harrison said. “They’ve gotten a little taste of it.”

Harrison said their enthusiasm has been contagious.

“I’ve been blessed with a great group of kids,” he said. “These kids have impressed me with what they do and their attitude. Their attitudes are phenomenal. I have learned there are young people who do want to work, who have a drive and a determination to be successful.”

Caption for top photo: Mountwest Maritime Academy cut the ribbon on its new facility at the Swiss Hills Innovation and Career Center in Woodsfield, Ohio. The main campus is in Huntington, W.Va. (Photo courtesy of Mountwest Maritime Academy.)