In mid-October, Maritime Professional Training (MPT) – the largest private maritime training school in the country – held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 25,000-square-foot expansion at the Fort Lauderdale campus.
MPT serves over 10,000 students per year, providing training for those pursuing careers in both the commercial and yachting maritime industries. Plans for the $5 million expansion project, which will roughly double the size of the campus’ simulation department, were first announced in July. The expansion will also include the addition of maritime training resources and technology, as well as more classrooms.
Students from around the world travel to MPT to take courses, staying at the school for anywhere from a week to six months. The expansion project will bring MPT’s total training space to approximately 61,000 square feet, including a simulation center in Fort Lauderdale. The expansion is predicted to benefit the local economy as well, since many students and families stay in hotels and spend money at local businesses.
Said Captain Ted Morley, COO of MPT, “Since we opened our doors over 30 years ago, an increasing number of aspiring maritime professionals have trusted MPT with their training and certification needs. This facility will allow us to train more students in the commercial and yachting industries, ultimately benefiting the local economy and maritime industry in Fort Lauderdale as a whole. This project has received tremendous support from the community, and we’re anxious to get the construction underway.”
Captain Morley went on to say that, “[t]his expansion builds on our current SMART Campus simulation facility, bringing the latest technology for deck and engine room simulation to the industry. It represents the most state-of-the-art simulation in the country, and the fact that we are locating it in South Florida is a testament to our commitment to the marine industry here.
About MPT
Maritime Professional Training (MPT) is a full-service, private maritime school that has been training mariners since 1983. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the campus is already a sprawling 45,000 square feet of training facilities, including classrooms, deck and engineering training labs, the “Ship’s Store”, and Student Services. Additionally, MPT houses the MPT SMART Simulation Center, the Sea Survival Training Facility, the Marine Tech Shipboard Firefighting Site, and the MPT Fleet of Training vessels. The school also offers tutoring and exam retake services.