Submarine sandwich

Hiring and retaining workers remains a challenge everywhere, but it’s particularly urgent in the submarine-building industry.

The Navy is aiming to transform its submarine fleet, with the first nuclear-powered Columbia-class sub primed to arrive in 2028, along with production of more Virginia-class vessels.

That’s bringing plenty of work to Newport News Shipbuilding — which is tasked with building two Virginia-class boats a year and producing six modular components for every Columbia-class submarine — as well as other Virginia maritime companies supporting its mission. But the increased workload is also bringing worries about who they’ll hire to do all this work.

In March, Newport News Shipbuilding announced it planned to hire 3,000 tradespeople this year and 16,000 more skilled workers by the end of the decade.

The Navy’s total submarine upgrade, says Hampton Roads Workforce Council President and CEO Shawn Avery, “will require more than 100,000 skilled workers across the country with training necessary to complete this task,” including roughly 30,000 workers in Hampton Roads. Avery has said that the deficit could grow to 40,000 workers by the end of the decade if efforts aren’t taken to boost the workforce.   

In November 2023, the council was awarded $14 million by the U.S. Department of Defense to bolster the regional workforce and meet the needs of the Navy’s submarine industrial base and related industries. The award will go toward launching 10 projects that the workforce council will run, with oversight by the Navy and the Department of Defense.

According to the workforce council’s announcement last fall, the 10 projects will “add capacity to training facilities, market the industry across the region, connect veterans and transitioning service members to maritime careers, and expand outreach to local middle and high school students.” The new projects will run in conjunction with four existing maritime talent pipeline programs in Hampton Roads, funded by an earlier federal grant.   

These are positive developments, but it’s nonetheless hard to fill some maritime jobs, says Will Fediw, the Virginia Maritime Association’s senior vice president.

“We’re hearing from our statewide membership that finding workers is an issue across the board,” he says. “In some cases, companies are literally just looking for people that will show up on time for work each day, and it’s still tough.”

Fediw says that for the VMA, which represents more than 450 member companies, there’s still an awareness gap that prevents businesses from filling open jobs. 

“Training and educational institutions are responding to offer programs to better meet the needs of the industry. However, we’re hearing that many of them have open capacity, so we view it as a marketing and awareness problem,” Fediw explains. “Our association has been emphasizing the need to get into the K-12 space to introduce young learners to maritime and supply chain careers.”

Growing the pool

The council has been working on maritime talent recruitment for several years, and it’s received state and federal money for job training programs in the past, including an $11 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2022 to develop a maritime talent pipeline known as the Regional Workforce Training System.

So far, 363 people are enrolled in maritime training through the regional training initiative, Avery says, and 309 have graduated from the program. Among the offerings are training for maritime welders, structural fitters, sheet metal fabricators, electrical technicians, outside machinists, wind turbine technicians and commercial drivers.

With the $14 million in DOD funding, the council plans to physically expand training spaces at New Horizons Regional Education Center, Paul D. Camp Community College, Virginia Peninsula Community College and Virginia Beach public schools, as well as expanding the Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (GO TEC) program in other Hampton Roads school systems.

Students in middle and high schools in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News will have opportunities to learn more about maritime jobs and what skills are needed by the industry, Avery says. Also, federal funding will help the workforce council align and standardize training for skilled tradespeople, as well as increase outreach among local veterans and transitioning members of the military and their family members, making them aware of maritime jobs and training opportunities.

“While it seems that we are making progress, skilled trade careers are often still not viewed as having the same worth and importance as those requiring a four-year college degree,” Fediw says. “Discussions around the dinner table need to be had regarding the stability and financial benefits of alternative career paths.”

As with most workforce ventures, Hampton Roads maritime job training initiatives require partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Virginia Peninsula Community College and the City of Newport News, as well as VPCC’s foundation and the Newport News Economic Development Authority, have partnered to acquire a new training facility in southeast Newport News, says Todd Estes, VPCC’s vice president of workforce development and innovation.

“Newport News EDA generously contributed the site, and the college received federal funding support from the submarine industrial base,” Estes says. “The facility will initially offer three programs supporting the shipbuilding and ship repair industry, including welding, marine electrical and structural fitting.”

Design work started in February for the new facility, which will be located near Newport News Shipbuilding, with completion expected by early 2025, Estes says.

As for the council’s anticipated timeline for the DOD-funded programs, “the projects approved and allocated in fiscal year 2023 are well underway,” Avery says, and this year’s plans are being vetted by SIB leadership and “are currently being approved and executed.”