Coastguard Boating Education's new general manager Mike Brown has a plan for reducing the number of people getting trouble on the water.

Mike, who was announced as the new general manager on Wednesday, says his plan includes targeting people who don't usually sit their courses but are often over-represented in boating statistics.

'We know Māori, Pasifika and new arrivals traditionally have a very low uptake of courses such as Day Skipper or Boatmaster. We have to change that if we want to reduce the number of people getting into trouble on our waters.”

Mike, is also determined to accelerate CBE's move into offering courses on line.

'Education is changing rapidly and it is great to see Coastguard Boating Education embracing new ways of delivering courses.

'People learn in a variety of different ways and it is important that we offer learning methods that are both enjoyable and which cater to everyone.”

Mike says CBE's new VHF Online radio operator's course is a great example of this. The soon to be released course teaches the relevant rules and allows people to practise making a variety of calls including trip reports, MayDay and Pan Pan calls before they sit the test.

A published author with a PhD in Education, Mike's varied career includes sail training for young people, stints as the operations manager at Yachting NZ, as an instructor and duty manager at Outward Bound, as a CBE examiner and working in tertiary education.

'I am passionate about education and the maritime environment — and about helping save lives at sea as the general manager of Coastguard Boating Education.”