Investing in Tomorrow’s Talent: AME and the MIASF Apprenticeship Program
AME is proud to invest in the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) 2-year Yacht Service Technician Apprenticeship Program, a vital initiative dedicated to training the next generation of Yacht Service tech's. This commitment ensures AME continues to develop field technicians that are ready to enter this complex industry that demands qualified workers.
This dedication starts at the top: our President, Rich Merhige, was recently featured in the South Florida Business Journal for his work teaching apprentices about propulsion and driveline systems a testament to AME’s commitment to hands-on education.
We are excited to spotlight two promising individuals connected to the program. Armani, who joined AME in September 2023, continues to excel as a Field Service Apprentice. Armani perfectly embodies the program's goal, blending his technical coursework with crucial, hands-on mechanical service work training directly with our experienced and specalized teams.
This month we welcomed an incoming apprentice, who will start the program in January 2026, Richcardee. Richcardee comes to AME with summertime real-world experience, having recently completed an internship at Port Everglades Terminal. During his time there, he worked under the guidance of Anna Silva, the Cruise Operations Manager.
Industry Spotlight
We value the feedback from our industry collegues who mentor the future workforce. Anna Silva, Cruise Operations Manager at Port Everglades Terminal, highlights the quality of candidates emerging from these programs:
Port Everglades Terminals has hosted interns through the JA Summer Youth Employment Program for the past two years. Their maturity, work ethic, and ability to create relationships with coworkers has impressed us. We even initially thought our first intern was "just this magnificent unicorn," but then we realized the JA Program "turns out solid students eager to learn." We have already signed up for a third summer intern (Summer 2026).
Regarding Richcardee specifically, Anna noted that when he came to them through the JA Program, he was already thinking about a technical career but lacked maritime exposure. They tailored the experience for him:
"We molded the internship program to his interests and threw everything we had at him – large scale machinery, crane handling equipment (CHE), tugboats, Coast Guard, the yachting industry and more. He took it all in... and eventually applied to an apprenticeship program. We couldn’t be prouder of him!"
AME’s investment in the MIASF Apprenticeship Program is a commitment to the future, ensuring a continuous pipeline of highly trained professionals ready to deliver operational excellence across the maritime sector.
