Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Partnership’s Transitions Program

Project Synopsis  

An industry-led consortium in the shipbuilding industry in Pascagoula, Mississippi prepares today’s youth for employment in tomorrow’s world of advanced manufacturing.  In the process, the program offers the industry a promising approach to dealing with a serious challenge: recruiting young people into the region’s manufacturing labor market.

The “Transitions Program” offers a five-week training curriculum designed to streamline recruitment of youth with employment barriers into entry-level jobs that are in demand in the shipyard.  The partnership takes on a unique aspect of the challenge of recruiting youth into manufacturing: It focuses on youth with developmental disabilities.  The program combines classroom instruction and on-the-job mentoring for the students – while they are actually employed at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.  The trainees earn $7.88 and receive full benefits, including health care and retirement.  At the same time they are making their way into the world of work – an important transition for all young people but especially important for youth with disabilities.  Once students complete their training, employment is at wage rates significantly higher than the median wage in the state, eventually reaching as high as $14.22 an hour for an experienced Rust Machine Operator, or $16.03 an hour for an experienced Cableman. 

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT or Painters) Local 1225 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 733, with the support of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, are full partners with the company in the design and delivery of this program. 

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Workforce Challenge

Maintaining the pipeline that channels young workers into manufacturing:  Employers and unions share a concern about the future of manufacturing in the US, particularly as the manufacturing workforce ages.  Better preparation by the K-12 education system is essential for incoming workers if they are to understand the changing nature of manufacturing, the wage potential these jobs provide and the requirements of the volatile manufacturing labor market.

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Understanding the Demand and Meeting It

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, the largest employer in both Louisiana and Mississippi, identified a serious workforce problem: The company had an aging workforce. The average age was over 42, with many workers nearing retirement.  At the same time, employment in the shipbuilding industry was growing: In the two-year period between July 2003 and July 2005, the industry grew by over 10,000 workers.  (In August, 2005, Hurricane Katrina dramatically reduced employment in the industry, which has still not rebounded to its pre-Katrina levels.)  Tapping into the experience and skills of a wide range of community partners, however, has allowed NGSS to offer employment training, which increases its competitiveness through streamlined recruitment of new workers and reduced turnover. 

The Transitions Program also meets two other needs of Northrop Grumman’s.  First, it ensures that the community recognizes the ways in which this, the state’s largest employer, is working pro-actively to open its doors to a wide cross-section of the potential Pascagoula workforce.  Secondly, the program helps NGSS meet its own employment diversity goals.  "This initiative and others like it support community and economic development by providing high paying careers… as well as supporting our internal diversity goals," said Dr. Larry Crane, director of Training and Workforce Development at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.

The program is one of several workforce efforts operated jointly by the company and its unions, including an incumbent worker training program and active apprenticeship programs in a number of different crafts.

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Program Partners

Program Partners include:  Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula (Ingalls Shipbuilding); the Center for Administering Rehabilitation and Employment Services (CARES) of Mississippi; the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 1225; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 733, with the support of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council (see text box below) and the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. 

In addition to the four major partners, George County High School and the nine public high schools of Jackson County are researching ways to streamline young adults with learning disabilities into entry-level high-paying jobs in the shipbuilding industry. 

CARES of Mississippi works with the public schools in this effort.  The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and the Louisiana Community and Technical College system are also partners in the project, providing training facilities, instructors, and other resources.  The unions provide worker-to-worker mentoring services as a key component of the project.  The responsibility for the classroom instruction, while distributed among the partners, is the primary training responsibility of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.

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Program Activities and Methods

The program begins with recruitment of young people from the area’s public high schools.  CARES of Mississippi disseminates information to high school students with disabilities at ten public high schools. Because of the nature of their disabilities, students in the program receive “certificates of completion,” rather than diplomas or Graduation Equivalency Diplomas (GEDs) from their public high schools.  These certificates simply acknowledge that the students have spent twelve years in school.  Students who receive certificates of completion and who require minimal accommodations and job modifications are specifically targeted for the Transitions Program.  Outreach and recruitment efforts use the existing relationship between NGSS, CARES of Mississippi's Projects With Industries (PWI) program, the State Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), and George and Jackson County high schools.  Like any other employee at NGSS, trainees must be at least 18 years of age, meet the physical requirements for the work, and must pass drug tests.

This initiative has developed methods of recruiting, screening, hiring, and training individuals that encourage employment success.  Students are admitted into the program only after all the partners conduct screening.  A labor-management committee screens prospective trainees for the company – an arrangement similar to, but separate from, the process used for screening apprentices. 

Since the inception of the program, four groups of trainees (28 total) have completed the five-week course.  The first class of trainees in 2003 trained for the Rust Machine Operator job classification, represented by the IUPAT.  The next two groups of trainees were trained as Cablemen.  The fourth class focused again on Rust Machine Operators, based on the occupational needs of Northrop Grumman. 

The training model of the program provides a phased-in approach, with gradual assimilation into the shipyard environment.  The training plan includes classroom instruction, job shadowing, practical lab application, and on-the-job training (OJT).  Initially classroom environment is emphasized, with more time gradually spent in the field.  The classroom instruction focuses on basic safety, familiarizing the trainees with shipyard facilities and terminology, and orienting trainees to the collective bargaining agreement and unions.
Other classroom training includes foundational skills and soft skills, such as: the expectations of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems as an employer; using mentors; and teamwork in the shipyard environment.

Once practical laboratory and OJT activities begin, students are provided training in additional subject areas, such as craft safety, blueprint reading, and tool recognition.  As part of the training, all students receive a Fire Watch Certification credential (See below).

One of the main reasons for the success of the program is the use of workplace mentors, and mentoring is precisely where the union makes its primary commitment to the program. The union, along with other partners, screens its own members and makes recommendations to the company about the most appropriate personnel to use in this sensitive role as a mentor.  The program matches each student with one craftsman from the IUPAT in the paint department for the Rust Machine Operator positions; IBEW members guide the OJT for the Cableman position.  Mentors are screened and selected based on their personal attributes, communication skills, patience, teamwork skills, etc.  The program also provides them with training on mentoring techniques and appropriate workplace mentoring activities.  Throughout the training period and beyond, agency partners and case managers have weekly access to the students.  This level of involvement facilitates a proactive approach to issue resolution, which assists in meeting the retention goals of the program.  In keeping with best practices for a program of this type, the students’ stakeholders (family and support groups) are highly involved throughout the program.

The graduates of the program are then assessed and placed into traditional employment in the company, with step increases and pay rates consistent with the union collective bargaining agreement for the position.  The graduates are typically placed at a wage rate around $12 an hour, with the potential of making $14.22 for Rust Machine Operators or $16.03 for Cablemen.  Graduates, even during their OJT, receive full company benefits, including heath care and retirement.

Industry-recognized credential: Fire watch certificate

The shipbuilding industry relies heavily on skilled welders performing their work in cramped, enclosed quarters.  The risk of fire is extreme in these circumstances; “normal” fire prevention techniques are simply not adequate to ensure the safety of workers.  Workers performing hot work are at risk of fires from the ignition of combustible material and from leaks of flammable gas from the welding equipment.  The industry has, consequently, developed a credential for workers who support the skilled craftspeople actually performing the welding operations.  Over the course of the training program, the students receive the training necessary to secure this portable, industry-recognized credential.  The credential certifies that the recipient has been trained in the fire safety methods necessary for welding in cramped quarters, including the appropriate use of fire-extinguishing equipment.

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Connections to the Public Workforce System

The program connects to the local public school system, the United States Department of Education’s Projects With Industries (PWI) grant program, the state of Mississippi’s Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). 

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Project Funding Sources

Funding for the program includes a federal Department of Education’s PWI Program grant, as well as resources from the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.  CARES of Mississippi and its predecessor organization have been receiving PWI grants since 1990, and this particular program component started in fall 2003.  In its most recent grant, CARES of Mississippi received over $400,000 in October 2005 for their continued work with youth.  Those resources go beyond the Transitions Program at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, and have helped launch the program in other industry sectors, particularly the hospitality industry, which is equally critical to the region’s economy.

The Department of Rehabilitation Services provides funding for tools and other support services (transportation, etc.), as well as a 50% wage subsidy to the students during their training course.  DRS and PWI case managers provide technical assistance.  They also provide an invaluable contribution to the design of the program, tailoring it for the special requirements of this youth population.  The unions contribute mentors, some safety equipment, and technical expertise to the program.  The IUPAT, for example, invested in safety and training equipment for the Rust Machine Operators, including earplugs, safety glasses, scrapers, and other basic painting tools.  The union employees of NGSS are compensated by the company while mentoring the students.

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Barriers Overcome

This population has unique barriers to employment.  Some of the students, for example, do not possess driver’s licenses.  Through the assistance of the State DRS these barriers were overcome and transportation was provided to the trainees, even after the training period.

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Program Results and Returns to Stakeholders/Partners

Twenty-eight students have been trained in the program, and Transitions has had a 90% completion rate.  Completion of the program guarantees employment at the company.  Eighty percent of the trainees were still employed by Northrop Grumman before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. 

Benefits to the Company:

The company has successfully built a streamlined method of recruiting new young workers, lowering the direct cost of new employee recruitment and screening new hires to increase the likelihood of success on the job.  The program also helps NGSS to meet its own diversity criteria.  Maintaining a diverse workforce is part of NGSS’s commitment to the communities where it operates.  The company views the 50% wage subsidy it receives from the State Department of Rehabilitation Services for this on-the-job training program as a significant benefit and an incentive to engage in the program.

Benefits to the Trainees:

The trainees receive a real-life introduction to the world of work.  The six-week training course provides opportunities leading to direct employment at the largest company in the state.  The beginning training wage is $7.88 an hour, with medical coverage and retirement benefits.  After the initial training, students are placed at a wage level commensurate with their skill attainment; eventually the trainees become First Class Rust Machine Operators with a wage of $14.22 an hour, well above Mississippi’s median hourly wage ($10.73 in 2003).  After four years in the Rust Machine Operator program, the employees are offered a career ladder into the Painters’ apprenticeship program.  They are offered a certification test where, if they pass, they are admitted into the journey-level painter classification.  Under the current collective bargaining agreement, journey-level painters earn $18.32 an hour.  The other classification for which the on-the-job training prepares the students, Cableman, receives $16.03 after several years of experience at the company.

Benefits to the Unions:

 Transitions gives the union a unique opportunity to educate young people about the role of the union in the workplace and in society before they become members.  The mentoring process allows individual union members the opportunity to develop relationships with the trainees – relationships that are rewarding to the individual union members and enhance the role of the union within the broader community.  The recognition by stakeholders (family and support groups) – and the trainees themselves – of the positive role played by individual union members and by the union in the program, enhances the likelihood that labor organizations will be perceived in a positive light.  This is especially important to participating unions in Mississippi, a state with one of the lowest union density rates in the nation.  The program has provided a cost-effective way for its employer to fill vacancies, which saves money that can be made available for other union priorities in negotiations.  Reducing the cost of finding skilled workers contributes to NGSS’s competitiveness, which increases the employment security of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council’s current membership.  Grady Bryant, business representative for the Painters, said, “Let’s give these folks a real opportunity and help the company at the same time.”

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 733 and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 1225 are rightfully proud of being recognized as leaders in workforce development at their workplace.  The project has received attention from the local news media, demonstrating the constructive role that labor and management can play together in community and economic development. 

Benefits to the Community:

The community investment in this training regimen is repaid through high-quality job placements for individuals who possess challenges to gainful employment.  Placing this special population in high-paying union jobs has a broad, diffuse benefit for the community.  Some of the students actually had been recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) prior to their involvement in the program.  SSI is a federal program, run by the Social Security Administration that delivers monthly benefits to people with disabilities and who have few resources.  The Transitions Program’s ability to place these young people in productive, high-paying, in-demand jobs ensures that they are not in need of public financial assistance.

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Next Steps for the Program and/or for the Partnership

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Pascagoula shipyard of Northrop Grumman has focused on hiring over 1,000 new workers to replace those individuals who chose not to return the Gulf Coast.  As a consequence, the Transitions Program has been temporarily suspended.  This promising practice, however, will be restarted in March, offering exceptional training and job opportunities to another group of young people with disabilities on the Gulf Coast.

For more information, contact Tom Gannon at tgannon@workingforamerica.org or info@workingforamerica.org.