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TTrainingTRAINING & RECRUITMENTBeyond ShipbuildingDomestic shipyards get creative in its approach to finding,training and keeping qualified shipfitters.By Joseph KeefeThe domestic, U.S. shipbuilding boom is here: blue water,brown water, offshore support, inland, and exportmaritime security platforms, too. The robust comebackhas just about everyone on this side of the pond very happy;unless of course, you are in the ‘human resources’ departmentand find yourself scrambling on a daily basis to recruit, trainand retain qualified help to competently build all those orderson your fat backlog. That said; these are good problems to have.According to the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA),private shipyards in the United States support 402,000 jobs and36 Billion in GDP. Even with those staggering numbers theshipyards are still faced with a severe skilled worker shortage.Issues facing the industry include an aging workforce, lack ofindividuals entering the trades, a dearth of training opportunitiesand the rapidly rising cost of recruiting, hiring, testing, andtraining. There are answers out there. You just have to knowwhere to look. Many shipyards have done just that.Resources for Human Resources ProfessionalsFor starters, the National Maritime Education Council(NMEC) is a Gulf Coast-based group seeking to standardizeand improve craft training within the maritime industry.As the spearhead for efforts to standardize and provide credentialsfor shipyard workers, backed by a coalition of 20+industry trade groups and companies, what the NMEC doesnext could well be the template for industry human resourcesdevelopment that we have been thirsting for.The NMEC is funded by its members and a financial commitmentis involved based on a company’s headcount. Thereare five investment levels in addition to an annual membershipWhile shipbuilding is booming across nearly every sector in the United States,there remains a serious need for talented workers across several trades.(Tradesmen International credit)24 | Maritime Professional | 4Q 2013