ABBRA to Offer Project Management Certification at Refit Show

American Boat Builders & Repairers Association (ABBRA) Refit Show, in partnership with the Landing School, has developed a six-part marine industry certification course for project managers. 

The first certification program will be held at the next Refit International Exhibition & Conference which runs from 10-11 January 2018, at Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale.

The project management certification course will be taught by Richard Schuhmann, Jamie Houtz, Kristy Lank, and Pam Lendzion and modules include:

• Project Management Basics 

• The Art of Estimating

• Boat Refit & Building Economics

• Team Building and Communications

• Project Control and Leadership

• A Case Study

Each Refit Show attendee who successfully completes all six courses will receive an ABBRA Badge at the end of the event and these courses are also open to Refit Show attendees who are not seeking certification.

Refit Show Director Jim Miller said,

"Considering the complexity of modern yacht refits, we see ABBRA's new certification as a critical effort to raise the bar in the refit workforce. Many of the Refit Show's attendees have asked us to develop seminars that tackle workforce challenges in yards. ABBRA is an expert partner for this area of our conference program."

Echoing the importance of this new certification, Pam Lendzion, ABBRA's executive director, explained the importance of the certificationadds,

"A refit project requires a great deal of forethought and planning. Our objective for the project management course is to provide attendees with relevant tips and guidelines for a successful refit project. A boatyard cannot perform a quality refit successfully and add value to an owner's asset without a strong project leader, an accurate estimate of cost, a good plan, accountability, a skilled team that works well together, and clear, continuous communication."

The 2018 edition of the Refit Show will be double the size of previous years, also increasing its seminar options from 15 to 24. ABBRA and the Landing School are also welcoming additional educational partners to contribute to the conference program including training schools and other marine associations and attendees will enjoy enhanced networking and a range of product demonstrations.

The full program for the Refit Show will be announced in th autumn when registration opens.