WHC’s High School Maritime Education Program

Many know about the Working Harbor Committee’s boat tours of the NY/NJ working waterfront, but did you know those boat tours help to fund very special harbor education programs for our local teens, some from at-risk organizations? In addition to grants, a portion of the tour ticket price goes towards funding the Working Harbor Committee’s High School Maritime Education Program.

photo: Mitch Waxman

WHC’s education program introduces high school students to the importance of our working waterfronts, with an emphasis on job opportunities available in the maritime industry and educational requirements needed to achieve them.

photo: Mitch Waxman

We organize special workshops with New York City high school students, inviting guest maritime industry leaders to speak to students about maritime industry careers. We introduce them to maritime careers on board vessels; at ports and terminals; in offices; and careers in government, including the U.S. Coast Guard. Many of these jobs utilize IT, administrative, sales and accounting skills as well as specialized training in the skilled trades.

photo: Mitch Waxman

We’ve created a database which provides students in our program with detailed descriptions of the types of jobs available in the maritime industry, listings for trade schools, colleges and internship programs available in North America and financial aid and scholarship programs for higher education.

We also publish a 52-page Maritime Occupation Career Guide, thanks to a grant from the Marine Society of the City of NY. This booklet serves as a great resource for students.

photo: Mitch Waxman

WHC wants to expand our maritime education program to more schools and organizations, reaching more students. We would like to increase our work with at-risk youth, many of whom live in the city shelter system. This ambitious goal means we need more funding. Corporate sponsorship would be a huge boost to our programs reach.

If your company would like to be a part of helping area youth, please contact us via our website, or call us 212 757 1600. In addition to the financial and philanthropic benefits of donating to our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, sponsoring corporations will be honored on all of our education program outreach communications and materials

Help us support and build the NY/NJ working harbor into the future with our most precious resource – our kids.

by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee