By Kathy Chouteau
The historic Red Oak Victory ship, built on the Richmond Home Front during WWII, set the stage on Oct. 2 for a Graduation Ceremony hosted by the JAMKO Foundation. Ten trainees completed the organization’s Maritime Apprenticeship Program (MAP), marking the end of 12 intensive weeks of hands-on training and the beginning of new seafaring careers.
Held in the ship’s theater, the ceremony filled the space with graduates, their families, program leaders and ship volunteers. A slideshow of the class’s training journey lit up the movie screen behind the stage, while lunch and cake were served afterward in the vessel’s dance hall.
“There’s a huge demand in the maritime industry right now, and these graduates are stepping into opportunity at exactly the right time.”
“This program is a phenomenal way to bridge people from poverty to prosperity,” said Michelle Edmond, JAMKO’s founder and executive director. “There’s a huge demand in the maritime industry right now, and these graduates are stepping into opportunity at exactly the right time.”
The program graduates, ranging in age from their early 20s to 60, hailed from across the Bay Area and Sacramento. During their training, they rotated through the deck, engine room and galley, learning the fundamentals of maritime work under the guidance of Program Director Evan Hastings of Apex Maritime Training & Consulting, a retired master bosun with three decades at sea.
Twice a week, trainees worked aboard the Red Oak Victory; the other two days were spent in classroom instruction in Oakland.
The ship’s Head of the Deck Department Kim Abbott honored the MAP graduates with a formal letter of appreciation recognizing their contributions to the vessel’s restoration and maintenance throughout the program.
“The Summer 2025 trainees helped us with greasing cables, securing and handling cargo, cargo winch operation, steel surface painting preparation and painting, mooring line handling, meal preparation and serving, plus cleaning throughout the ship,” said Abbott. He added, “Their galley talents were so good that we asked them to prepare lunch for the Rosie Revival Project ‘Media Day.’ They prepared and served meals to 80 guests.”
Hastings added that the ship becomes the cohort’s training ground. “They learn real skills—everything from deck operations to culinary work—that prepare them for life at sea.”
Also hailing the graduates was Dr. Robert Wilkins, the director of the International Maritime Center, Seafarer’s Ministry of the Golden Gate.
“The rigorous training you have completed has increased your knowledge, strengthened your character, tested your limits and expanded your comfort zone to equip you with the specialized skills needed for you to successfully enter the maritime industry and help to navigate the world’s oceans,” Dr. Wilkins said. “Stand tall and take immense pride in this achievement.”
Each graduate received a certificate of completion representing the first phase of their federally registered apprenticeship. Next, they’ll receive documentation paid for by JAMKO. This includes a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC), U.S. passport and a Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential—that will open doors to union and other maritime jobs.
“Once they have their documentation in hand, they can go straight to work,” said Edmond. “Historically, 100 percent of our graduates who complete this process have found jobs.”
The career pathways are wide-ranging: many will pursue deep sea work, traveling the globe aboard merchant vessels, while others may join ferry or tugboat operations closer to home. Starting salaries average around $65,000 annually, with the potential to surpass $100,000 within a few years.
The ceremony also carried personal significance. Hastings’ family inspired the revival of JAMKO’s maritime training effort, a Black-founded and led program with roots in Richmond’s seafaring community. “This is more than a training program,” said Edmond. “It’s a continuation of a legacy.”
JAMKO Foundation’s MAP is a Department of Labor registered apprenticeship program. It’s in the midst of becoming a department of apprenticeship standards for the State of California, where it will focus on training 16-to-24-year-olds. “So we’ll have an apprenticeship for everyone 18-plus,” said Edmonds, who plans to expand JAMKO’s presence to Southern California ports as well.
The nonprofit’s focus on opportunity for youth and adults from low-income backgrounds is at the core of its mission.
Edmonds noted that many trainees are coming from really tough circumstances, including being unhoused when they start. She said the training not only gives them a skill, but also a pathway to economic stability and a future they may not have imagined.
“We proudly launch the beginning of our students’ maritime journey a voyage that reaches beyond the horizon of financial freedom, awakening their minds, enriching their souls, and connecting them to the world across vast and boundless oceans,” said Hastings.
The Red Oak Victory plays a vital role as both a living piece of history and a modern training site. As the graduates climbed down the ship’s gangway that day, they left as future mariners ready to launch their next chapter at sea.
