EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S LETTER

MTS and SUT Launch the Marine Technologist Certification Program
Kathleen Herndon, MTS Executive Director

I am delighted to announce that effective immediately, the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) will launch the Marine Technologist Certification program. In 2020, the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) entered into a pilot program to offer the Chartered Marine Technologist (CMarTech), in an effort to provide members with an opportunity to advance their professional profile through certification. Now, all MTS and SUT members will have the opportunity to apply for Marine Technologist Certification through your own professional society - at all three levels of certification: Chartered Marine Technologist (CMarTech), Registered Marine Technologist (RMarTech), and Marine Technician (MarTech).

“Becoming professionally registered recognises experience and competence beyond academic qualifications and shows a commitment to integrity and a responsibility for the wider public in your work. Because ongoing reflection is central to maintaining your place on the register, the process builds a more self-aware and sophisticated workforce. Gaining Technician, Registered, or Chartered status is a universally recognised mark of expertise which places the individual within a respected circle of professionals and helps strengthen their influence. Those at this level work to high ethical standards and it gives both peers and the wider community trust and confidence in their work.” Gwynne Lewis, Chief Executive, Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST).

“The CMarTech, RMarTech, and MarTech professional registers will advance the marine technology workforce which will benefit the sustainability of our ocean and the blue economy for many years to come.” said Zdenka Willis, President of MTS. “We thank SUT and the IMarEST for their partnership in these programs, and we look forward to recognizing our members who complete the programs.”

MTS Past President Rick Spinrad added, “The CMarTech, RMarTech, and MarTech professional registers are globally respected and provide substantial value to our industry. In achieving the registration, our members will advance the trajectory of their careers and positively impact ocean technology. The synergy of the IMarEST, MTS, and SUT along with the success of the pilot program brought us to this day, and we encourage members in all marine science positions to apply.”

SUT President, Judith Patten, said, “I wholeheartedly echo Zdenka’s and Rick’s views. This is a crucial step in the SUT’s history. As a learned society, furthering the education of scientists and technologists to maintain high standards in marine science and technology is one of the published aims of the SUT. Launching this initiative enforces our society’s commitment to helping our technologist and technician members fulfil their potential. Not only do we welcome the first tranche of programs but, on behalf of our scientific members, we look forward to the addition of CMarSci and RMarSci registers later in the year. Working with the IMarEST and MTS like this not only helps individual members, but also ensures we fulfil another of our aims – to maintain high standards in marine science and technology.”

MTS and SUT certified six individuals during the pilot conducted in 2020.  Members sought this certification to various reasons.  SUT member Andre Rose, technical advisor with the International Marine Contractors Association, “I was pleased to be involved in the CMarTech pilot scheme. Professional recognition for skills, such as piloting ROVs, does not exist elsewhere so this is very welcome scheme.”  Michael Lombardi, MTS member and owner of Lombardi Undersea LLC, a diving technology research and consulting firm based in Rhode Island, uses his CMarTech registration for his innovative research in undersea habitation, rebreather technology, and in his non-profit work with Ocean Opportunity Inc. “The CMarTech register affords a globally recognized mechanism to validate professional credentials within the marine technology space,” he said. 

Agreeing with Rose, Lombardi discussed the significance of the program, “The field is made up of academicians, technicians, as well as tradespeople, and to date there is not always a clear-cut academic or professional development path towards the highly specialized niches that marine technicians fill. Recognizing their valued expertise through this program is hugely important to help leaders stand out through the developing blue economy.” 

MTS and SUT are proud of the candidates who completed our pilot program. View a listing of our pilot CMarTechs online.

What is Marine Technology Certification?
The Chartered Marine Technologist (CMarTech), Registered Marine Technologist (RMarTech), and Marine Technician (MarTech) are registered by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science, and Technology (IMarEST), which has a Royal Charter from the United Kingdom, to award suitably qualified and experienced applicants Marine Technologist Registration. MTS and SUT have been granted a license from the IMarEST to award these qualifications to candidates applying through our Societies.

CMarTech, RMarTech, and MarTech are professionals who harness, exploit, manage, use, or apply marine technology in the pursuit of wealth creation and/or the provision of services in the marine sector. They are characterized by their ability to deal with complex issues, both systematically and creatively and can make sound judgments in the absence of complete data to develop solutions to problems and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

The application process requires candidates to demonstrate competency in sixteen core areas, including:

• Specialist knowledge,
• Theoretical and practical methods of analysis,
• Technical and commercial leadership,
• Interpersonal skills, and
• A commitment to professional standards and obligations to the profession and the environment.

Candidates’ credentials and experience are scrutinized by multiple experts in Marine Technology in a rigorous vetting process. Only the most highly qualified and experienced candidates are invited to join this elite group of Marine Technologists.

Who should apply?
Typically, Chartered Marine Technologists will be professionals from disciplines such as: Fleet Managers, Hydrographers, Marine Superintendents (Deck), Meteorologists, Pilots, ROV Pilots and Developers, AUV Technicians, Marine Logisticians, Deck Officers and Ratings, Marine Surveyors, Shipping Professionals, Harbormasters, University Faculty, Navigators, Radar/Sonar Maintenance Experts, Warfare Officers and Ratings and Naval Officers and Ratings, Instrumentation and Platform Designers and Developers, & Offshore oil, gas & Renewables Practitioners.

What educational level is required?
Certification is open to everyone who can demonstrate the required, high-level knowledge and professional competence. Each certification requires a formal degree in an approved subject area. However, in lieu of a formal degree, it is possible to demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge through a combination of academic awards and/or appropriate experiential learning.

What is the value of Certification?
Marine Technology Certification has many benefits for individuals, employers, and the public as a whole. Certification ensures high and improving standards across all technological disciplines; it reflects best practice and is set at an internationally recognized benchmark level. Certification encompasses high caliber professionals in the practice, research, application and teaching of technology, and recognizes the increasing focus on transdisciplinary skills for the future of science, engineering and technology. Furthermore, Certification provides employers with additional assurance of the quality of their workforce.

It is of benefit to:

• Society, which will be more confident in the competence of an individual and need no longer be confused by a platform of letters and descriptions.
• Individual practitioners, by identification as a professional that sets them at the forefront of their profession and offers a passport to job mobility.
• Employers, with confirmation, through the designation, of the quality of a job applicant’s qualifications.
• Government offices, seeking to hire or appoint permanent staff, advisers, or consultants would have an assurance about the level of an individual’s expertise.
• Professional societies and organizations, by providing additional opportunities to benchmark their qualifications.
• Higher education, which will be better able to set and monitor benchmarks for their technology courses, and to promote programs of study to meet the high standards required of a Chartered Marine Technologist.
• Regulatory authorities, who could be confident in specifying the designation in legislation and regulations
• Legal credibility, enabling expert witness participation at a defined standard.
• Professional standing, recognizing equality of excellence across the technology professions.

Learn more and apply online
Questions? Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

Katie Herndon, Ph.D.

MTS Executive Director