...While the obvious mission of the Mississippi Shipbuilding and Metal Trades
Academy will be to train workers for the increasingly high-tech shipbuilding
industry, it may also go a long way towards changing attitudes.
...“This is going to be a world-class facility that will not only elevate our ability
to train in the right skill sets, but it will in some cases will change minds about
these occupations,” said George Freeland of the Jackson County Economic
Development Foundation.
...Mississippi will spend at least $20 million in Hurricane Katrina recovery
money to build the academy in Pascagoula. It was first announced by Gov.
Haley Barbour at the second annual Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium in
early February.
...Plans call for a 70,000 square-foot building that will include classrooms and
workspace for trades of the shipbuilding industry. The academy will be operated
by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, one of the region’s primary
sources for workforce training.
...An architect has been hired and the academy will be built on the west side of
Jerry St. Pe Drive on eight to 10 acres. Site work could begin as early as this fall
with a planned opening in 2010.
Big need
...Pascagoula is home to shipyards owned by Northrop Grumman, VT Halter
Marine and Signal International. To the west in Gulfport are shipyards owned
by Northrop Grumman, Trinity Yachts, Gulf Ship and United States Marine.
Other shipyards in the region are in Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. Most
constantly need workers.
...But the academy will have another, more subtle mission: image building.
...Economic development officials and experts who follow the industry
acknowledge that it’s harder today than in the past to get people interested in
shipbuilding careers. It’s part of a broader problem all manufacturers have
experienced.
...The U.S. Department of Labor has said that too few young people consider
manufacturing careers and often are unaware of the high level of skill needed for
advanced manufacturing in today’s world.
...A study last year by Deloitte said the lack of a trained work force is one of
five root causes of huge cost overruns on major defense acquisition programs.
And numerous studies suggest the talent shortage will likely get worse.
...Students can’t be blamed for seeing manufacturing as a less than ideal option.
Manufacturing jobs have gone away, some to less costly foreign shores, some to
automation.
...The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the shift from goods-producing to
service-providing employment will continue. Service-providing industries will
account for about 15.7 million new wage and salary jobs generated over the
2006-2016 period. By contrast, manufacturing jobs will be down 10.6 percent
or 1.5 million jobs in the same period.
...Shipbuilders are among those that feel the crunch. Companies with shipyards
in the region are worried enough that they formed the Gulf States Shipbuilding
Consortium, in part to address the need for a skilled work force.
Operations
...The day-to-day operations of the academy will be funded by the shipbuilders
who will benefit from a trained workforce. Freeland, executive director of
JCEDF, said Northrop alone estimates it can put thousands of students a year
through the academy.
...Plans are for the new training center to collaborate with a similar, $10 million
to $12 million facility that Alabama's two-year college plans on the east bank of
the Mobile River near shipbuilder Austal USA.
...“We’re trying to get young people interested in advanced manufacturing,” said
Anna Faye Kelley-Winders, vice president of community campus and
institutional development at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She
said the academy will provide “a modern showcase facility” that will help
enhance the awareness of a career in shipbuilding.
...Eventually, the academy will be used to train workers for the energy and
aerospace industries, and perhaps more. Aerospace is a growing field for South
Mississippi and the broader region. Jackson County is home to the Northrop
Grumman Unmanned Systems Center and there are multiple aerospace-related
activities at Stennis Space Center. Nearby Mobile, too, has aerospace jobs and
still hopes to land the Air Force tanker project. But that will be done the road,
officials said. - David Tortorano
July 2009
Academy will be to train workers for the increasingly high-tech shipbuilding
industry, it may also go a long way towards changing attitudes.
...“This is going to be a world-class facility that will not only elevate our ability
to train in the right skill sets, but it will in some cases will change minds about
these occupations,” said George Freeland of the Jackson County Economic
Development Foundation.
...Mississippi will spend at least $20 million in Hurricane Katrina recovery
money to build the academy in Pascagoula. It was first announced by Gov.
Haley Barbour at the second annual Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium in
early February.
...Plans call for a 70,000 square-foot building that will include classrooms and
workspace for trades of the shipbuilding industry. The academy will be operated
by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, one of the region’s primary
sources for workforce training.
...An architect has been hired and the academy will be built on the west side of
Jerry St. Pe Drive on eight to 10 acres. Site work could begin as early as this fall
with a planned opening in 2010.
Big need
...Pascagoula is home to shipyards owned by Northrop Grumman, VT Halter
Marine and Signal International. To the west in Gulfport are shipyards owned
by Northrop Grumman, Trinity Yachts, Gulf Ship and United States Marine.
Other shipyards in the region are in Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. Most
constantly need workers.
...But the academy will have another, more subtle mission: image building.
...Economic development officials and experts who follow the industry
acknowledge that it’s harder today than in the past to get people interested in
shipbuilding careers. It’s part of a broader problem all manufacturers have
experienced.
...The U.S. Department of Labor has said that too few young people consider
manufacturing careers and often are unaware of the high level of skill needed for
advanced manufacturing in today’s world.
...A study last year by Deloitte said the lack of a trained work force is one of
five root causes of huge cost overruns on major defense acquisition programs.
And numerous studies suggest the talent shortage will likely get worse.
...Students can’t be blamed for seeing manufacturing as a less than ideal option.
Manufacturing jobs have gone away, some to less costly foreign shores, some to
automation.
...The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the shift from goods-producing to
service-providing employment will continue. Service-providing industries will
account for about 15.7 million new wage and salary jobs generated over the
2006-2016 period. By contrast, manufacturing jobs will be down 10.6 percent
or 1.5 million jobs in the same period.
...Shipbuilders are among those that feel the crunch. Companies with shipyards
in the region are worried enough that they formed the Gulf States Shipbuilding
Consortium, in part to address the need for a skilled work force.
Operations
...The day-to-day operations of the academy will be funded by the shipbuilders
who will benefit from a trained workforce. Freeland, executive director of
JCEDF, said Northrop alone estimates it can put thousands of students a year
through the academy.
...Plans are for the new training center to collaborate with a similar, $10 million
to $12 million facility that Alabama's two-year college plans on the east bank of
the Mobile River near shipbuilder Austal USA.
...“We’re trying to get young people interested in advanced manufacturing,” said
Anna Faye Kelley-Winders, vice president of community campus and
institutional development at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She
said the academy will provide “a modern showcase facility” that will help
enhance the awareness of a career in shipbuilding.
...Eventually, the academy will be used to train workers for the energy and
aerospace industries, and perhaps more. Aerospace is a growing field for South
Mississippi and the broader region. Jackson County is home to the Northrop
Grumman Unmanned Systems Center and there are multiple aerospace-related
activities at Stennis Space Center. Nearby Mobile, too, has aerospace jobs and
still hopes to land the Air Force tanker project. But that will be done the road,
officials said. - David Tortorano
July 2009
Shipbuilding/workforce
Academy a different breed of vo-tech
Academy a different breed of vo-tech
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