Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Seacoast School of Technology team up
KITTERY, Maine — Students at the Seacoast School of Technology are getting new opportunities for industrial trade education with help from America’s oldest public shipyard.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the Exeter-based regional school have entered into an educational partnership agreement, the shipyard announced this week.
Shipyard spokesperson Jeremy Lambert said the partnership took effect on Nov. 3 and is a five-year agreement. Lambert explained that the shipyard’s subject matter experts will work hand-in-hand with the faculty and students of the Seacoast School of Technology’s Regional Career and Technical Education Center to bolster workforce development programs.
More:Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to fill 1,200 jobs in 2 years. How to get hired, what it pays.
The collaboration comes as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has touted plans to hire 1,200 more civilian employees over the next two years.
The initial areas of study facilitated by the shipyard will include welding technologies, building construction technologies, automotive technologies, and pre-engineering courses, according to Lambert.
“This partnership allows shipyard personnel to engage with SST students by sharing real-world, practical applications of STEM programs,” shipyard Commander Capt. Michael Oberdorf said in a prepared statement. “The shipyard strives to build strong community partnerships with educational facilities to help fortify their programs. In return this helps develop the future workforce in the region.”
Why Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is working with local high school students
According to shipyard leaders, the agreement has mutual benefits: enhancing the educational experience for the school’s students and faculty while putting a spotlight on the trades and jobs offered in the Navy and at the shipyard.
“The partnership is a way to encourage areas of study and educational experiences that are offered by Seacoast School of Technology and applicable to shipyard trades,” Lambert said.
“The goal of the partnership is to provide exposure within the school’s technical education program that can translate to the variety of trades at the Shipyard,” he continued. “We hope the partnership will foster continued interest in the Shipyard’s Apprentice Program, Worker Skills Progression Program, and STEM related career fields.”
More:Shipyard is looking to hire 1,200 more workers. Kittery wants to know where they'll park.
How shipyard program fits at Seacoast School of Technology
The Seacoast School of Technology serves students from Epping, Exeter, Newmarket, Raymond, Sanborn Regional and Winnacunnet high schools.
Numerous programs within the Seacoast School of Technology give students the opportunity to earn college credits and certifications while satisfying graduation requirements for high school.
The school offers 12 academic programs: animal and plant sciences, automotive technologies, biomedical science and technology, building construction technologies, careers in education, computer science, culinary arts, digital media arts, health science technologies, marketing technologies, pre-engineering and welding technologies.
Seacoast School of Technology Principal Pamela Carr expressed gratitude for the partnership with the shipyard in a prepared statement.
“It is easy to see the great benefit it will provide to the Seacoast School of Technology and to the lives of our students, their families and, thereby, the communities of the NH Seacoast,” she said.
The shipyard encourages eligible graduating students from the Seacoast School of Technology to apply to its two apprenticeship programs, the Trades Apprenticeship and the Worker Skills Progression Program.
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