The Columbian - Full Article Link
By Sarah Wolf, Columbian staff reporter
Published: September 30, 2025, 5:25pm
Program works with Port of Vancouver to give students hands-on experience and training
Got a kid longing to work on the high seas? Clark County now has a high school program for that.
Port of Vancouver leaders gathered with students and staff from Cascadia Technical Academy on Tuesday morning to celebrate the launch of the school’s new Maritime Technology Program. The program is the only of its kind in Southwest Washington.
“Our research is showing that the workforce is aging,” said Mike Bomar, chief economic strategy officer at the Port of Vancouver.
Bomar said the maritime industry needs workers with a range of skills, and it offers jobs with high pay.
State data shows captains, mates and pilots of water vessels earn on average $107,696 annually, while transportation and material movers earn on average $60,424 annually.
Cascadia Tech leased a small building on the Columbia River from the Port of Vancouver in May to house the new maritime program.
The location gives students a front-row seat to maritime activity right outside their classroom window.
Paul Huddleston, dean of students at Cascadia Tech, said the proximity to the port is a huge advantage for the program.
“Our goal is to get you as immersed as we possibly can,” Jack Burkman, Port of Vancouver commissioner, said to the students Tuesday.
Students started classes at the west Vancouver outpost in September.
The program has about 40 students split into morning and afternoon classes.
Mason Engel, 17, and Elli Gorman, 17, both said they aspire to work in the industry one day. Engel, a Washougal High School student, wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps and go into maritime work.
Washington’s superintendent of public instruction approved an official 540-hour maritime curriculum in March 2021, which will guide the maritime program’s coursework.
But the school aims to also give students hands-on experience, even getting them out on the water.
Colton Edmiston, maritime instructor at Cascadia, said he wants to show the students that working in the maritime industry isn’t just about boats.
“There’s the whole industry that supports this — all the movement and all the economy of this area,” he added.
Students will work toward boaters’ cards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration certifications and Transportation Workers Identification Cards, which will give them a leg up when they are looking for work.
The program also incorporates hands-on training, introducing skills like welding and electrical work.
The program has the support of the local maritime industry, as well, with about 20 local maritime organizations serving on its advisory committee.
Huddleston emphasized the program wouldn’t be possible without the Port of Vancouver’s support.
“It’s industry that drives what we’re going to do, and the Port of Vancouver will continue to be huge players,” he said.
Huddleston said the school doesn’t just want high-paying jobs for its students but also aims to provide quality workers for the industry.
“It’s a partnership that’s going to benefit both sides,” he said.
Trades programs in local high schools have become more and more common, but this is the first of its kind locally. A maritime program previously slated to open at Hudson’s Bay High School is no longer in the works, according to a Vancouver Public Schools spokesperson. Interested students will be directed to Cascadia Tech instead.
The high school is operated by Evergreen Public Schools but open to students across the county, from Washougal to Woodland and in between.
The program is still getting off the ground, but Edmiston said he hopes it continues to grow and provide more experiences for students in the years to come.