Boating Industry Canada June 2015 - (Page 14)

BOatInG OntarIO Best praCtICes WOrksHOp, aprIL 8, 2015 mArIne teChnICIAn CrIsIs aLert BY ANDY ADAMS aL DOnaLDsOn, executive director of Boating Ontario took to the podium and opened the April 8th sessions at the Nottawasaga Inn by explaining that the vision for the Best Practices workshop is to raise the level of professionalism in the Ontario marine industry. "The 2014 session was very good therefore we are doing our second professional development day", said Al Donaldson. He remarked that the cost of $100 per person is remarkably low thanks to the generosity of their sponsors which included RBC, Lifestyle Integrated, HUB Insurance, Canadian Boat Shows, Yamaha Motor Canada and G3 boats. The roster of speakers was also very good. Dan Pride of the Pride Marine Group introduced the speakers which included Chris Nicholson of AFEX foreign-exchange talking about the challenges of currency exchange, Pat Sturgeon and Mike Burns talking about import and export of used and new boats and the complexities of cross-border transactions. Al Donaldson also presented information on the recent ruling from Canada Revenue Agency about auditing bank finder fees and an HST issue that was costing the dealers money. With the help of the Trillium Auto Dealers Association, TADA, tax lawyers were hired to fight the issue and the industry won a favourable ruling. Mike Gridley and Sarah Petrie of Lifestyle Integrated gave a presentation about how to shoot video for your dealership and integrate it into your website. Then C.J. Polumbi and Will MacReynolds gave a presentation on technological advancements and augmented virtual reality with video animation focusing on how these can be used to help promote boating. Glenn Roller was the keynote speaker who closed out the day with a condensed session of valuable sales development coaching. 14 Boating Industry Canada JUNE 2015 Every boat dealer in the room would have found value in the day and the Nottawasaga Inn provided a comfortable venue and very good food, all included in the price. marine technician Crisis alert The most significant presentation in my opinion, was the news about the crisis in marine technician shortages delivered by Rob Davidson of Georgian College. Our industry sells pleasure craft and if those boats and engines aren't running well, the pleasure goes right out of boating. Even a brand new boat has to be rigged and set up properly by a skilled technician and maintaining that boat is a critical part of the enjoyment for your customers. Rob Davidson began by explaining that only 12 students were expected to graduate from the Georgian College Marine Engine program this year. With so few students, it is understandable that the future of the program itself is in jeopardy. The cost of staffing and maintaining these courses is just not justified by graduating so few students. But, the news gets worse. Very few of their graduates wind up making careers in the marine industry even after all the years and investment that the students have made in their education. Many industries need skilled trades people; there are shortages in all sorts of industries, many of which offer both higher wages and secure twelve-month employment. You may recall several years ago, that Boating Ontario created the "5 x 10" program designed to attract five hundred new marine technician students by 2010. In fact the program succeeded in increasing the numbers but that has fallen off again. We are now at the lowest point since 2005 in terms of stu-

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boating Industry Canada June 2015

Insight
Industry News
Impact: Rob Rule
Industry: Marine Tech Crisis
GE Spotlight
Ad Nauseam
Marketing: Beating the Boomer Bust
Made In Canada: Sideshift Thrusters
Made In Canada: Nova Braid
The Boat Shop: NMEA
The Boat Shop: ABYC

Boating Industry Canada June 2015