BATH, Maine — As industries across Maine struggle to fill positions left open by retirements, the state’s defense sector is aggressively pursuing a younger workforce.
At Bath Iron Works, the hiring of young talent to replace exiting employees has already begun. According to an independent report released by the company last week, 53% of the shipbuilder’s workforce in 2023 had five or fewer years of experience at the company—a steep increase from 17% in 2010.
“We have to keep a full court press to make sure our industrial base has the workers it needs to be ready for the future,” Ray Steen, vice president of human relations at BIW, said Wednesday. “Our workforce has turned.”
By its own estimates, Bath Iron Works spent $129 million on recruitment and training between 2016 and 2023. A main focus of these efforts is incumbent training: hiring entry level positions and then teaching them specialized skills to fill needed roles.
Steen said replacing jobs in the trades specifically has proved to be a substantial challenge.
“Skilled carpenters, skilled electricians skilled designers and detailers are really not there,” he explained.
Bath Iron Works is far from the only defense outfit facing this issue. Maine is also home to Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. According to the Maine Defense Industry Alliance, the three entities anticipate the need to fill 7,500 jobs in the next five years.
“Having that talent, that ability to build that ship and deliver it on time is core to our national defense,” David Daigler, who serves as co-chair of the alliance, said Wednesday.
In addition to incumbent training and “hiring for fit,” Daigler, who is president of the Maine Community College System, also points to the importance of educational institutions matching their programs to the direct needs of companies like Bath Iron Works.
“We’re delivering on a lot of short-term training that in real time is providing the skills that are needed in very short windows,” Daigler said, also emphasizing the need to tackle factors off the jobsite—like a lack of affordable housing.
Ultimately, Daigler sees promise in the strategies used for solving workforce issues in the defense industry cluster, which according to the MDIA accounted for 10% of the state’s gross domestic product in 2022.
“I will say that the defense industry is a few fragments ahead of these industries because they've learned these things sooner,” he said.