Student Welding

In July and August, Maine Maritime Academy hosted the inaugural Naval Shipyard Institute training program in collaboration with the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and ORBIS Inc., a defense contractor. The program, funded by the U.S. Navy, trained over fifty students in welding, machining, and marine electrical over six weeks. Following the successful completion of the program, students are eligible to continue their training at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard with the possibility of employment maintaining, repairing, and sustaining nuclear submarines.

The U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base intends to hire 140,000 skilled workers over the next decade to meet the U.S. Navy submarine production goals and to maintain the current submarine fleet. To build the capacity of the Submarine Industrial Base, the Navy requested $3.9 billion in federal funding for FY25. Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also identified additional funding for the Submarine Industrial Base as the Navy’s top unfunded priority for FY25.

On August 8, representatives from the offices of Governor Mills, Senator Collins, Senator King, as well as officials from the U.S. Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, MMA’s Board of Trustees and the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor visited the Academy’s campus to observe the intensive training program and discuss workforce development efforts. Coverage of the event by NBC and CBS affiliates can be viewed by following the links below.

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