SENEDIA, the Alliance for Defense Tech, Talent, and Innovation, has announced that its New England Submarine Shipbuilding Partnership has surpassed 10,000 people trained across the region for careers in submarine shipbuilding.
The program’s graduates help deliver and maintain the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet. In just over five years, the Middletown-based alliance has provided technical support and facilitated the investment of more than $100 million in 14 trades training programs across eight institutions, with 94% of participating students completing their training.
“At a moment of global instability, paired with uncertainty and rising costs close to home, submarine production is both a national security priority and an important engine for economic growth across our region,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said the program is “an investment in our people, in our communities, and in our economy” and commended the organizations in SENEDIA’s regional training network for their collaborative approach.
Gov. Dan McKee tied the milestone to the state’s economic goals. “Our plan is very simple in the State of Rhode Island: it’s to help young people reach their full potential, raise incomes for Islanders, help people stay healthy, and we’re going to keep building things, including the submarines that our region is known for,” he said. “Rhode Island is the Ocean State for a reason — the maritime defense industry is central here, it’s growing, and it’s just one of the industries we’re investing in.”
Launched in mid-2020, the partnership now has 27 active programs and is on track to train more than 3,500 people annually. Its training is carried out at institutions including the New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, the Community College of Rhode Island at the Westerly Education Center, the Thielsch Engineering Weld School in Cranston and several institutions in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The milestone coincides with the 250th anniversary of American independence, which came a year after the U.S. Navy was established.
The largest single employer of those trained through the partnership is General Dynamics Electric Boat. Many of the company’s 8,000 hires this year alone will be trained through the partnership’s regional training network.
“We are the nation’s first and finest submarine builder,” said Mark Rayha, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat. “The graduates coming to EB from the Partnership are hitting the ground running, allowing us to keep up with a demanding production schedule while continuing to innovate and improve in service of our country.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut, ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, said the milestone is significant but not the end of the effort, which he said requires double the number of skilled shipbuilders. SENEDIA Director of Operations Tim Fox said the program is meeting a clear need. “Hands-on training and career pathway programs like the New England Submarine Shipbuilding Partnership ensure that the defense sector has the talent it needs to grow,” he said. “Our program works, and we are eager to continue to expand our reach to meet the defense needs of the future.”
Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, director of submarine programs for the U.S. Navy, said the demand for undersea forces continues to grow. “The imperative to build and maintain our submarines faster is clear; programs like SENEDIA help to ensure we grow the workforce we need to get our boats back to the fleet,” he said.
More information about SENEDIA and its workforce development programming is available at SENEDIA.org.
