The College of Marine Studies Inc. will be a non-profit community inspired college of excellence in the marine industry, engaging local people and those whose needs and visions can help achieve a sustainable relationship between land, sea, and wildlife.
The Marine College will retain the maritime activities associated with Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour and provide a future for boat building and related skills training for the fourth largest export industry, boating. Existing infrastructure combined with the need to meet the demands and training gap that currently exists on the North Coast is intergral to why Brunswick Heads was chosen as the location of the College. The College will breathe new life into the currently under utilised resources in Brunswick Heads, namely the slipway, marina and old Finns Restaurant Building.
It is a low impact solution, which can be readily integrated with community facilities...a solution that has been sought after for some years.
The North Coast has a strong involvement in marine studies with the Southern Cross University offering major areas of study in environment, science, marine science and management, all in undergraduate, honors and post graduate levels.
Local high schools, in particular Ballina High School, specialises in environmental studies. These educational institutions have experienced some difficulties in accessing resources for their students on the North Coast.
The North Coast, similar to most rural NSW regions, experience demands for training that can not be met by local organisations resulting in students having to travel distances to access training. A number of skills shortage areas, in particular Trades, have been identified as needing to be addressed, as a large number of students and apprentices have to travel to Queensland or Sydney / Newcastle to undertake their required training. Besides the marine industry training in boat building, shipwright, marine coxswain (to name a few), other trades will be included in the College of Marine Studies scope of training delivery such as baking and butchery, which currently have a large demand but no local training facility.
Once land and infrastructure has been granted to COMS, the College would be self sustainable.
Funding will be generated by the following:
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State, Federal and Local Government grants
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Donations from established foundations
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World wide licensing of MyDory Boats
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Fee for Service from slipway and marina berths
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Tax Deductible Recipient Status
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Sponsorship
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Donation of Vessels ‘in kind’
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Donations of goods and services
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Work for the Dole Program
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Voluntary Community Service
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Global trade Exchanges
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Global Carbon Trading
Examples of 'Vessels in Kind' donated to COMS
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