News

Paul Hall Center - A Model for Training and Apprenticeship for the Transportation Workforce

Posted October 2016

TLC staff Jack Clark, Xinge Wang and Tia Brown recently paid a visit to the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education located at Piney Point, Maryland. The Center crew was accompanied by Vice President of the Seafarers International Union, Thomas Orzechowski, Jr.; Priscilla Labanowski, Director of Vocational Training and Education; and Assistant VP of Paul Hall Center, and QSS Coordinator, Michael Loughran on a tour of the campus of over 60 acres, complete with the most advanced training tools, including the bridge and engine simulators, the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting an d Safety School, and the culinary lab .

Since 2003 the Paul Hall Center has used a Registered Apprenticeship program to prepare over 3,000 U.S. Mariners, the largest of its kind for entry-level seafarers in the United States. Apprentices receive training for careers on all types of vessels. They pay no tuition and receive room and board during their participation. Participants who complete the training and graduate in good standing from the program are guaranteed jobs as Merchant Marines. Students may also receive college credit recommendations for successfully completing certain sanctioned courses. In addition to licenses and post-secondary credit, the program also offers a complete high school equivalency program (GED), adult basic education and study skills, and English as a second language (ESOL). The school is funded through a Collective Bargaining Agreement Trust.

For more information on the Paul Hall Center and the apprenticeship program, go to: http://www.seafarers.org/paulhallcenter/phc.asp