Canal Barge Introduces Students To The Engineroom

When considering a career in the maritime industry, many young people are drawn to the wheelhouse first. There’s no denying the appeal of standing between the sticks of a towboat. At We Work the Waterways’ (WWW) industry interaction days, Canal Barge Company (CBC) shows students that excitement can come from being in the engineroom as well.

“These young people are our future,” said Daniel Getman, the training development supervisor for engineering at Canal Barge. “We get a lot of kids who come to us who are interested in being a wheelman or captain, so we’re trying to show them there’s other options out there too.”

We Work the Waterways is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to educating students about the careers the inland waterways have to offer. During industry interaction days, students spend the day speaking with industry professionals at stations and hearing presentations designed to teach them about the opportunities that await on the rivers.

“Our goal is to open students’ eyes to the many different career paths the maritime industry offers,” said Errin Howard, executive director of We Work the Waterways. “The wheelhouse is amazing, but there are so many other vital roles, like engineering, that keep our waterways moving.”

A towboat tour, including seeing the engine room, is a popular element at most industry interaction days. At the Canal Barge station, Getman introduces students to what working in the engineroom is really like.

Getman has spent nearly 20 years as an engineer on the inland waterways and currently trains incoming engineers for Canal Barge. When talking to kids about potential career paths, he explains the versatility that can come with a career as a maritime engineer.

“If you’re mechanically inclined, and if you’re someone who likes to work with your hands, you really don’t get to do a lot of that in the wheelhouse,” Getman said. “As an engineer, you learn skillsets you can take and apply in other career paths and other opportunities while you’re at home too.”

When meeting kids who are interested in a path toward engineering on the river, Getman emphasizes to students the importance of what they’re learning in the classroom and how it can prepare them for a career on the waterways. According to Getman, being fluent in math is necessary, but being skilled at reading and writing is important as well.

“Communication is very important,” Getman said. “When you have an issue on a vessel as an engineer and you’re trying to get technical support from shoreside, being able to communicate through emails and speaking well and being clear and concise in what you’re talking about is very important.”

Aspiring engineers spend their first three to five years at Canal Barge as part of the deck crew. What follows is a year and a half of training before being released as a entry-level engineer. Canal Barge engineers are trained in-house with their training fully paid for, a fact that Getman says baffles some kids.

“You can make six figures and not have to go six figures into debt,” Getman said. “Engineers in the inland industry can now make $100,000 a year in most cases as a top engineer, and they don’t have to go to college and go into debt.”

At the WWW industry interaction days, students get to interact with the same simulators Canal Barge uses when training engineers. While the curriculum might be less intense, students get the opportunity to experience what work in the engineroom is really like rather than just sitting through a presentation.

At the Canal Barge station at WWW events, students get hands on experience setting valves on an air compressor simulator, using power tools, learning basic electrical work with batteries and even plumbing.

Canal Barge Company has been involved in two WWW events, with more planned in the upcoming school year.