In this episode of Ship Repair Radio, VSRA President John Polowczyk sits down with Shawn Avery, President of the Hampton Roads Workforce Council. They tackle a persistent but outdated narrative: the supposed lack of a maritime workforce in Hampton Roads. Shawn details the massive, coordinated "workforce generation machine" actively supplying talent to both the shipbuilding and ship repair industries across the region.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Busting the Workforce Myth: Hampton Roads is currently training 6,000 maritime workers. There are plans to scale to 10,000 individuals as new training centers come online.
• The Hampton Roads Maritime Training System: There is an unprecedented collaboration of about 35 educational partners. This network ranges from K-12 technical centers up to community colleges to build regional training capacity.
• Historic Investment & ROI: The initiative started with an initial $99,000 grant. It is now approaching over $100 million in strategic investments to fund new labs, training programs, and marketing.
• Matching Supply with Demand: The council moved beyond baseline labor market data. They dedicated full-time staff to align industry demand flows directly with educational outputs.
• Incumbent Worker Training & Apprenticeships: Funding is available to upskill current employees to retain talent and help them grow into supervisory roles. This also helps open up entry-level opportunities below them.

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