Summary
National Park College (NPC) received a visit from Suzuki Marine to reaffirm its commitment to supporting the NPC Marine Technology program and to discuss ways to further strengthen the partnership.
National Park College (NPC) received a visit from Suzuki Marine on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. The visit was an opportunity for Suzuki to reaffirm its commitment to supporting the NPC Marine Technology program and to discuss ways to further strengthen the partnership.
“We couldn’t exist without the support of our manufacturers,” said Delmar Hunter, Marine Technology instructor at NPC. “Suzuki is really invested in our program and they donate a lot of product to it, to our campus and we even host factory trainings here with Suzuki so our students are really prepared for the real world when they get out there, especially on Suzuki products.”
Suzuki Marine Lead Instructor Luis Gonzalez explained why Suzuki continues to support the NPC Marine program:
“Suzuki supports the training program here at National Park College because of the quality of training that we see come out of the program. The feedback I get from the instructor here about the technicians that have actually made it to the industry is very successful, so we are excited to keep promoting that success across our industry because we need the technicians in the field.”
“We need good quality trained technicians, not just for Suzuki but throughout our industry’s lines. We need to make sure that we keep filling these voids that we have in this industry. We know it’s a great industry to work in and we just want to continue to see the success,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also discussed his upcoming speech at the NPC Marine Technology Advisory Committee meeting:
“I’m going to talk about the success of this program that I’ve seen coming from the Suzuki side. Again, it’s a well-rounded program. The students are very well rounded, so we want to continue to see that success by providing products to help teach and brainstorm what else we can do to help,” said Gonzalez. “Whatever else is needed for the program we can do to help the program, such as showing up here and talking to the students for a couple of hours. We are trying to fill the voids of any needs that are there.”
Kevin Lind, Instructional Designer at Suzuki Marine, also joined Gonzalez on the visit to NPC. Lind and Gonzalez discussed his work on the Suzuki Marine curriculum and acknowledged his satisfaction with the NPC Marine Technology program:
“I speak with Mr. Hunter quite a bit trying to make sure he has what he needs from us but also the feedback he gives me from his training and what he does for Suzuki itself, but again I don’t want to say just Suzuki he also takes care of the industry as a whole. It’s very impressive. That’s why we enjoy supporting and we want to continue to support this program,” said Gonzalez.
The visit from Suzuki Marine is a testament to the strong partnership between the two organizations. Suzuki’s continued support of the NPC Marine Technology program will help to ensure that students have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the marine industry.
