IYRS focuses on training highly skilled craftspeople and technicians for careers in a wide range of industries.
Currently four accredited programs are offered in Digital Modeling & Fabrication, Composites Technology, Boatbuilding & Restoration, and Marine Systems.
IYRS programs focus on making, building, restoring, and maintaining, using both traditional and modern materials from wood to composites and carbon fiber.
Programs are accredited by the ACCSC and qualified applicants are eligible for federal financial aid and veterans' benefits for post-secondary education.
In 1993, the marine artist John Mecray, philanthropist Elizabeth Meyer, who restored the J-Class yacht Endeavor, and several others founded the school on a 1-hectare property on the Newport waterfront.