Philly Shipyard Celebrates First Class of PA Talent Pipeline Project at Signing Day
May 25, 2022
PHILADELPHIA — On Wednesday, May 25, the Pennsylvania Talent Pipeline Project – a collective effort by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the U.S. Navy in accordance with the City of Philadelphia – hosted its first-ever Signing Day ceremony at the Independence Seaport Museum to recognize the first class of this workforce development initiative. The project aims to reinvigorate the defense trade skills workforce across the greater Philadelphia region by connecting employers that are critical to maritime supply chains directly with the career and technical education (CTE) programs which train the next generation of skilled workers.
“This is the way … this has to work. This program, and the partnerships it has created are the foundation of how we get there,” said Matt Sermon, Executive Director of Program Executive Office, Strategic Submarines. “These next generation workforce members are going into skilled, sustainable, high paying jobs, and they will be directly supporting the Navy’s crucial mission.”
Philly Shipyard was one of 34 employers in southeastern Pennsylvania with a direct ties to the maritime defense industry participating in the event and formally recognizing the commitment to hire and retain more than 200 new workforce members into mission-critical careers.
“We have the highest concentration of critical suppliers in the entire country right here in the Philadelphia region,” Rear Adm. Scott Pappano, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Program Executive Office, Columbia Class Submarine. “We already rely upon them, so when we talk about a Pipeline Project, it starts right here in Philadelphia with its maritime roots.”
In May 2021, the Navy, in partnership with the OSD Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, launched an initiative to engage and energize the greater Philadelphia defense industrial base by creating maritime-focused manufacturing talent pipelines. These efforts aim to recapitalize the defense workforce and address critical trade skill gaps across the maritime and defense ecosystems, including the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. DOT Maritime Administration (MARAD). Across the Pennsylvania’s maritime ecosystem, there is a significant demand for critical trade skills including welders, machinists, metal fabricators, electricians, ship fitters, and quality assurance.
The U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense have more than $300 billion planned for investments in new submarines, aircraft carriers, and ships over the next several decades. Pennsylvania is a center of gravity for these shipbuilding and ship sustainment programs, with several hundred defense industry partners across the region. The state also has more critical submarine and aircraft carrier suppliers than any other state in the country.
“It is no accident that re-capitalizing our strategic ballistic missile submarines is the number one priority of the United States Navy,” said Frederick Stefany, Principal Civilian Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy. “The graduates of this program have opportunities to be a part of that amazing effort, to build the next generation, to build the next 50 to 60 years of ballistic missile submarines.”
The Pennsylvania Talent Pipeline Project is working to strengthen the trade skills workforce through recruiting, hiring, training, and retaining next generation workforce members who are mission critical to building the submarines, ships, and systems the Navy needs.
“As a district, we are committed to making sure that our students graduate with the knowledge, skills and experience that will prepare them for post-secondary success,” said School District of Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D. “This new Pennsylvania Talent Pipeline Project provides our students with the choice and ability to secure high-demand and good paying jobs as soon as they graduate. We are extremely grateful for this partnership and to the employers who are choosing to re-think the school-to-work-pipeline and invest in our students.”
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About the Pennsylvania Talent Pipeline Program
The Philadelphia Region Talent Acquisition and Retention Pilot Project Team will energize and engage the greater Philadelphia Region economy by creating and sustaining a maritime and defense industrial base focused Talent Acquisition and Retention pipeline enabling EMPLOYERS to re-capitalize their workforce through recruiting, hiring, training, and retaining skilled workforce members with critical trade skills for one year as productive and engaged new employees.
About Philly Shipyard
Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI) is a leading U.S. shipbuilder that is presently pursuing a mix of commercial and government work. It possesses a state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility and has earned a reputation as a preferred provider of oceangoing merchant vessels with a track record of delivering quality ships, having delivered around 50% of all large ocean-going Jones Act commercial ships since 2000. PSI is the sole operating subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA. Philly Shipyard ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (XOAX: PHLY) and is majority-owned by Aker Capital AS, which in turn is wholly-owned by Aker ASA (Aker). Aker is an industrial investment company that exercises active ownership to create value. Aker has ownership interests in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, maritime assets, marine biotechnology and industrial software, and its portfolio includes companies like Aker BP, Aker Horizons, Aker BioMarine, Cognite, and Aker Solutions.