CASTINE, Maine — A critical need for skilled maritime labor led to the creation of the Maine Maritime Academy's new Naval Shipyard Institute workforce development program. Over 14 weeks, students learn one of four disciplines, indoor and outdoor machining, marine electrical, and welding, all for free.
The idea conceived just a year ago is the product of a collaborative effort between MMA, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and Orbis Inc., a naval defense contractor.
Students learn their chosen trade for six weeks at MMA's Castine campus before applying their skills for eight weeks at the shipyard. After which they are ready for the workforce.
Maine Maritime COO and Interim President Craig Johnson feels the program is a good use of taxpayer dollars.
"It's paid for by the federal government," he said. "You hear a lot of programs have 10-12 folks. Here, we have over 50. That's the largest group in the United States and I think the state of Maine should be proud."
While walking away debt-free, students also are paid by Orbis for the skills they learn. Being able to earn while she learns was a draw for welding student Lyndsey Levasseur. Even with the added cash, the program has exceeded her expectations.
"One of the biggest things that I didn't expect were the number of opportunities I would encounter," she said. "It's great. Who [doesn’t] want a job that gonna pay you well, give you good benefits. You can create good connections with people."
Johnson praises his faculty for condensing a year’s curriculum into 6-weeks.
One of those faculty is Associate Professor of Engineering Peter Lewis who teaches machining. His praise is for the students.
"I'm just extremely pleased with how quickly they have picked things up and how hard they have worked," he said. "It's a tremendous amount of information to process and they have really taken it and run with it."
MMA plans to expand its program to other campuses and run four to five trades training sessions a year.