Electric Boat looking to hire 5,750 new workers this year in CT and RI facilities

General Dynamics Electric Boat needs to hire plenty of people to fulfill its government contracts. This year, it’s putting the pedal to the metal with hiring.

The manufacturing giant wants to hire 5,750 more people this year, between the Groton and the Quonset Point, Rhode Island facilities, even after hiring 3,900 people last year. This comes as the company plans to build two Virginia Class submarines yearly over a decade’s time, plus building the first two Columbia Class submarines for the U.S. Navy. This will be the company's fastest growth in over a century.

The company has been awarded large contracts for submarine building in the recent past. The largest was $22.2 billion in Dec. 2019 for nine Virginia Class submarines, according to an EB press release. For the two Columbia Class Submarines, the company was awarded nearly $9.5 billion in 2020, according to another press release.

The Virginia Class submarines are attack submarines specialized for coastal operations. The Columbia Class submarines are ballistic missile submarines meant to replace the older Ohio Class, according to the U.S. Navy's website.

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The large hiring demand comes from growing the workforce for building the Columbia Class submarines, and replacing retiring parts of the workforce, said Courtney Murphy, EB’s director of Talent Acquisition, Workforce Development and Acquisition.

“(The workload) is growing year over year, so we anticipate these types of numbers for the next decade,” she said.

Finding and training workers

To help fill the demand is the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative from the Eastern Workforce Investment Board. Started in 2015, the initiative offers training programs dictated by local manufacturers for jobs they need to fill quickly. After a matter of weeks or months, someone in the program is qualified to work at a local manufacturer. To date, 2,700 people have graduated from the program.

With EB’s high hiring demands this year, the Eastern Workforce Investment Board will offer more programs this year, not just for EB, but for all the manufacturers in the area. Last year, there were 49 programs, but there will be 82 this year. That many classes means about 1,000 people will be ready for hiring, said Michael Nogelo, president and CEO of the Eastern Workforce Investment Board.

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“We’ll need to continue at that same pace, or even and increased pace next year to hit the target,” he said.

EB growing its training capacity through the program was “first and foremost.” The company has hired 1,800 of those 2,700 program graduates, Murphy said.

High school graduates to earn almost $20 per hour

Building relationships at the high school level is also important, particularly through career programs and technical high schools. EB held its first signing day at schools in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and had 77 students committed to working for the company upon graduation. These new hires will make at least $19.48 an hour. The company expects to hire 400 graduating high school students this year, Murphy said.

“There are a lot of kids that are graduating from high schools, and college might not be right for them,” she said. “This is a great lifelong career that they can come here and be proud of what they do every day.”

The Eastern Workforce Investment Board also wants to remind students and parents that manufacturing is a high-tech and successful career path. This includes expanding the Youth Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative from just training high school students, to providing simulations and introducing science concepts to middle and elementary school students, Nogelo said.

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“(EB’s) hiring peak is expected in 2033, so people graduating high school then are in second grade now,” he said.

While the Hartford and New Haven areas constitute the local edge for EB’s hiring area, the company has an interest in hiring people who would relocate to work at the company, Murphy said.

“We will take employees from any place,” she said. “We know we can train them.”

EB strongly pursues filling engineering jobs, as “tiger teams” are sent to colleges across the country to recruit engineering students, said Dan McFadden, EB’s director of communications and public affairs.

Job security

People who come to EB should expect long-term work. For example, the program building 12 total Columbia Class submarines is expected to last till 2040, and the two submarines per year pace for the Virginia Class should last about as long, McFadden said.

“Unfortunately, the world doesn’t seem to be getting any safer these days,” he said. “The Navy needs these submarines, and it’s a continuing demand.”

The Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative may need help keeping up. It’s expected to be $2.6 million short of state funding next year, due to a funding source running out, and a cut in Governor Ned Lamont’s proposed state budget. Despite this, state legislators, including State Senator Cathy Osten want to prevent the funding reduction, Nogelo said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Electric Boat in Groton CT and Quonset Point to hire workers in 2023