Shipyard Wins Navy Grant to Certify Welders

Marine Group Boat Works (Marine Group), a full-service shipyard based in San Diego, won a Navy Grant to establish a maritime welding program designed to expand the skilled labor workforce supporting the U.S. Navy’s growing shipbuilding and repair demands. 

Marine Group was awarded this grant because it addresses workforce constraints by increasing the number of highly skilled welders certified to NAVSEA standards, thereby enhancing production resources for Navy surface ships and critical maritime assets. The Navy Grant covers 75 percent of the total program costs with Marine Group matching the remaining 25 percent.

“For years, the maritime industry has struggled with figuring out who will replace the existing generation of Navy boatbuilders,” said Todd Roberts, CEO of Marine Group. “This Navy grant has allowed us to take matters into our own hands by coming up with a viable solution to the workforce problem.”

Marine Group partnered with the Maritime Institute in San Diego to develop and deliver a customized curriculum, combining accredited technical instruction with the quality and safety standards required for Navy shipbuilding and repair projects. The shipyard then offers a scholarship that pays new and existing eligible employees to learn how to weld while covering the costs of course materials and instruction throughout the entire NAVSEA welding certification process. Upon successful certification, graduates transition into full-time welding positions at Marine Group which comes with competitive pay, medical and 401K benefits.

The primary objective of the program is to certify as many welders as possible to NAVSEA standards, ensuring graduates are immediately qualified to weld on Navy vessels. The program has already results, with the first class of participants achieving a 100 percent passing rate, and all students fully certified and currently assigned to one of Marine Group’s boatbuilding projects—two Jordan patrol boats for the Navy’s Foreign Military Sales and a Range Support Vessel for the Navy’s Program Executive Office. 

Coupled with Marine Group’s average retention rate of 92%, which is about 35% higher than the maritime industrial base’s average (cited as low as 57% for skilled workers according to the Navy’s Talent Pipeline Program), the investment in its production team will increase shipyard efficiency while simultaneously adding to the industry’s workforce. Certifications give employees greater confidence in their ability to successfully handle more complex welding tasks and transferable skills that will benefit them throughout their career in manufacturing wherever they go.