Page 35: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2021)

SHIPBUILDING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT eneral Dynamics Electric Boat will invest $1.7 and the future. This effort is in the process of expanding to all billion to modernize and upgrade its Quonset, the New England states.

R.I. and Groton, Conn., facilities over the next Bond points to EB’s “pipeline partnerships” in both Con- ten years,” said Sean Davies, vice president necticut and Rhode Island that helps to develop quali? ed,

Gfor EB’s Quonset Point Operations. “Here at skilled and available personnel. “Our partners provide the

Quonset, we are investing $700 million that will increase our basic skills in the trades for our new hires so they can be pro- out? tting space by 13 acres, to support work on the Virginia ductive as soon as they set foot in the shipyard. This has been and Columbia class of submarines. When we are complete, critical not only in building skills, but also dramatically re- we will be adding 600,000 square feet of submarine module ducing our ? rst-year attrition. In most cases, we’ve been able out? tting space here on our Rhode Island campus, which rep- to cut our ? rst-year attrition in half because of the way we resents one of the largest construction projects undertaken in onboard them and introduce them to shipbuilding.” the state in recent years.” “We will put more than 1,000 people through those pipe-

Because the modular sections for the Columbia-class that lines in Rhode Island, and we have a parallel pipeline in Con- will be fabricated at Quonset Point will be substantially larger necticut,” said Davies. Our training programs used to focus and heavier than previous submarines, the company is build- on either Connecticut or Rhode Island, but SENEDIA brings ing a new and larger ocean transport barge with about 6,000 a cross state and regional perspective, so we can expand into tons of capacity to transport the modules along the East Coast Massachusetts and further into New England.” between Newport News, Groton and Quonset Point. EB also Developing skilled talent to design, build and repair ships plans to build a new ? oating drydock to accommodate the requires partners. SENEDIA was awarded an $18.6 million new Columbia class subs. contract in August 2020 from the Department of Defense to

The Groton shipyard is also undergoing a major expansion. develop the Next Generation Submarine Shipbuilding Supply

The new 200,000-sq. ft. South Yard Assembly building will Chain Partnership, a robust New England regional workforce eventually be the home of 1,400 skilled shipbuilders who will development program that will serve the needs of submarine deliver the Columbia-class, and is part of an $850 million ex- shipbuilding employers and open up job exploration and em- pansion at the EB Groton shipyard. ployment opportunities to more than 5,000 potential workers.

Electric Boat is experiencing signi? cant hiring of designers, “One of our key goals at SENEDIA is to help engage the engineers, trade and industrial skilled employees to support next generation workforce so that they see and consider the the growth and expansion. In 2020, EB hired 2,000 people, many high-wage, high-demand, high-growth opportunities, mostly in the second half of the year due to earlier COVID whether STEM or trade/industrial skill related, there are limitations. In 2021, the company expects to hire 2,400 engi- through defense-related career pathways,” said SENEDIA neers, tradesmen and support personnel. Executive Director Molly Magee. “These careers make a tre-

Led by the Southeastern New England Defense Industry mendous impact on our national security, and the demand for

Alliance (SENEDIA), a next-generation industry partnership skilled talent in our sector continues to grow.” supported by workforce development stakeholders, including Magee said SENEDIA sees itself as the bridge between state workforce agencies, academic institutions, training pro- companies looking for talent and people looking to learn, train viders, and Manufacturing Extension Partnerships and Pro- and work. “SENEDIA’s internship program has seen incredi- curement Technical Assistance Centers in Connecticut, Mas- ble success in kickstarting careers across IT and cybersecurity, sachusetts and Rhode Island are helping develop the quali? ed engineering, supply chain management, undersea technology, workforce that will design and build the submarines of today and beyond. More than 90 percent of our interns ? nd a job

Over the past 100 years, more than 5,800 men and women have graduated from the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY &

IMF) Apprentice Program. Upon successful completion of the program, apprentices are promoted to journey workers and attain an Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S)

Degree in Applied Trades. Lauryn-Mae Pang became an apprentice diesel crane mechanic, then worked on her bachelor’s degree through PHNSY’s Apprentice to

Engineer (A2E) program. She’s now a nuclear mechanical engineer at the shipyard. www.marinelink.com 35

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