Ingalls shipbuilding a Mississippi marvel

*First appeared in the June 18 edition of the Laurel Chronicle

Last week I visited Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. as part of the Leadership Mississippi class. Over the years I’ve done some work with the good folks at Ingalls, particularly in the realm of workforce development. Somehow, though, I had never actually toured the shipbuilding campus.

In three words, it was amazing.

Located on 800 acres, Ingalls Shipbuilding employs more than 11,000 employees, making it the largest manufacturing employer in the state. Nearly thirteen percent, or 1,500 workers, of the workforce are veterans. This year, Ingalls is looking to hire approximately 3,000 to 3,500 more workers, making it the size (population-wise) of a small Mississippi city.

The sheer number of people employed by this company is staggering. How do you keep them on task, working toward the same goal? It seems impossible, but my background in politics may not be the best environment for learning how to work as a team.

Ingalls employees are passionate about what they do – so it helps if you, too, understand what the company does here in Mississippi.

They’re the largest supplier of U.S. Navy surface combatants, having built over 70 percent of Navy fleet of warships. Ingalls is the builder-of-record for 28 of the 62-ship Aegis DDG 51 class of guided missile destroyers, as well as the LHA 6 class large deck amphibious ships and prime builder of the Navy’s newest fleet of the San Antonio class of amphibious assault ships.

Three Ingalls-built LPD ships have been named in remembrance of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001: USS New York, Arlington, and Somerset. As we learned last week, the New York ship actually has metal from the Twin Towers melded into it.

There’s no other way to say this: Ingalls makes some pretty awesome ships. Awesomely terrifying, if you’re the enemy.

Maybe that’s why Ingalls employees feel so strongly about the nature of their work. From engineers to communications professionals; from electrical workers to welders, virtually everyone I met at the shipyard seemed genuinely excited to be there. They share a single purpose: To protect the nation’s security and economic interests.

One of our tour guides was head of the electrical team and came from a military family. He was a product of the military, just as his father before him and his son after him and his sister and his sister-in-law and, he hoped, his grandson.

His patriotism was inspiring and translated well into his day-to-day job at Ingalls. Like one of the company representatives noted, “sea power controls trade. If you control the ocean, you control economies around the world.” America having the world’s most advanced naval fleet not only helps secure our nation, but it also strengthens our economy.

That’s when our class began shouting in unison, “U.S.A.! U.S.A!” (Okay, not really. But that would have been cool.)

Our tour guide told us he “didn’t know anything about electricity” when he first began working at Ingalls, but he quickly learned the ropes and eventually worked his way up to the director position. It reminded me of something I’ve said before: More young people need to recognize the value of on-the-job training as well as the importance of the skilled trades, like welding, pipefitting, or electrical work.

You don’t have to get a four-year degree to be successful or to contribute to your state and nation. There are numerous Ingalls workers who have earned community college degrees or other credentials who are protecting America each and everyday.

But back to our tour guide. About this time he pointed out what I believe is the largest crane I have ever seen – nicknamed “Goliath” I soon learned. The size of the machinery needed to build these ships is crazy. For example, Goliath the Crane can lift up to 660 tons. You need to have a lot of training and some wicked confidence to operate that piece of equipment.

Because the campus is so large and accidents do occur, there is a hospital on-site, replete with certified doctors, three fire trucks, and two ambulances. Not only does Ingalls take seriously the safety of our nation, they also take seriously the safety of their workers.

While on our tour, I did notice that male workers overwhelmingly outnumbered female workers, which isn’t terribly surprising. A recent study conducted by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute found that women are underrepresented in the manufacturing sector nationwide, representing only one-fourth of the industry’s workforce. Across all industry sectors, women represent about half – so that’s quite a difference.

“Tougher than steel. Only the best shipbuilders in the world can build the finest ships at sea,” proclaims the Ingalls website in reference to its workers. But I’m not surprised, you see. They are, after all, referring to Mississippians.

Tech Master program smart idea

*Originally appeared in the Jan. 16 edition of the Laurel Chronicle

Last week, the Mississippi Economic Council announced a joint partnership with some large employers to improve state workforce readiness. The Mississippi Scholars Tech Master program, as it is officially called, provides specific standards for a tech-prep course of study with an emphasis on science, engineering, technology, and math (also known as STEM). This year, the program will be piloted in seven counties, including Jones County.

The crux of the program is to direct more students to careers in craft, such as welding, machining, or other technical jobs that aren’t always on a high school student’s radar.

Tech Master is a smart idea, especially considering recent projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2012 through 2022. Two-thirds of the 30 occupations with the largest projected employment increase over this time period aren’t expected to require postsecondary education for entry (craft jobs typically don’t require a college degree, for example). While no degree may be necessary, skills will be required according to the report.

What’s interesting to me is the inclusion of a “soft skills” component in the Tech Master program. Not only are students expected to take certain STEM-focused classes, they are also required to log at least 20 hours of community and/or volunteer service during the year. Communications, multitasking, and other skills gained by participating in community service activities help ensure students are employable upon graduation.

Those who complete the Tech Master program will be recognized both at their high school graduation and by some of the state’s largest employers looking to hire new workers. Irwin Edenzon, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding and corporate vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries, said his company would give preference to Tech Master graduates during their hiring process.

This is great news for students in the Free State. High schoolers have an opportunity to get a competitive edge in the labor market, and that’s no small feat. While our state may be slowly recovering from the economic recession, the unemployment rate remains elevated and the job market competitive. Programs like the Tech Master initiative can spur economic growth in the Pine Belt, but only if students – and those who influence them – understand their options.

Becoming a “Tech Master” may not sound appealing to high schoolers who dream of “making the big bucks.” But I’ll bet that if you dig deeper, these students don’t actually understand the dynamics of the job market nor the wages that can be earned as craftspeople. To borrow another quote from Ingalls’ Edenzon, craft jobs pay well, with “many of our craftspeople [earning] beginning salaries higher than a starting salary of a four-year, liberal arts graduate.” When students begin to understand that craft jobs can provide a comfortable living, I imagine their tune about career ambitions may change.

But, really, it’s up to parents, teachers, advisors, and other influencers to make sure students understand their options, including a realistic look at what jobs are available. These influencers should steer clear of any comments that may intentionally or unintentionally stigmatize jobs in the skilled trades.

The Tech Master program may not be for everyone. There are certainly a large number of students who aspire to (and should) attend a four-year university. But not everyone fits into that socially-acceptable mold. The new Tech Master program gives these students a way to succeed and feel good about it. Let’s encourage them to do so!