Brian Dursi joined RIMTA in the spring of 2015 with a wealth of valuable experience in the marine trades–as a student, instructor, employee and employer. This background gives him a unique vantage point to achieve his ultimate goal: to attract more talented workers to our industry.
Brian grew up sailing but his formal education intersected with the ocean in college, during a SEA Semester on the schooner Westward. After graduation, he studied wooden boat building in Maine and became an instructor in a vocational boat-building program for at-risk youth in Delaware. His successive positions were at Jamestown Boat Yard and later helping companies connect with skilled craftsmen at Tradesmen International. “I have seen some of the struggles of recruiting a workforce for the marine trades, and I look forward to attracting more young people to our industry,” said Brian, when he joined the RIMTA staff.
Brian oversees the Marine Trades and Composites Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program as well as the Youth Summer Boatbuilding Program for 14- to 16-year-olds, which is now successfully launched in two locations, in Newport and North Providence.