From Awareness to Workforce: Strengthening Maritime Careers in Our Region

The podcast highlights a large-scale maritime career and workforce event hosted at Nauticus by the Hampton Roads Workforce Council and its partners. Leaders from workforce development, industry, education, and the U.S. Coast Guard emphasize the critical role maritime plays in the regional economy, national security, and future job growth, with more than 30,000 positions projected to be needed in the coming years. The conversation underscores the urgent need to raise awareness and build talent pipelines by engaging families, students, career changers, and veterans through hands-on experiences, education pathways, and collaboration between industry and training institutions. The event showcases the wide range of maritime careers—from skilled trades to engineering and logistics—and reinforces the importance of early exposure, accessibility, and long-term career progression within the industry.

Visit www.maritimejobsva.com to discover what career and training opportunities are right for you in the Hampton Roads maritime industry.

The Regional Maritime Training System (RMTS) was established using a $11 million (41%) Good Jobs Challenge Grant awarded by the Economic Development Administration. It is supported by $12.1 million (46%) provided through BlueForge Alliance in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Navy, $850,000 (3%) from the U.S. Department of Labor/ETA – Community Project Funding, and $3.5 million (10%) from non-federal sources.

Transcript

My name is Jackie Rondo, Director of Employer Engagement for Maritime,
and I am with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council. Jackie, thanks for talking to us today. We're actually doing this podcast in support of the Hampton Roads Workforce Council, so we're glad to have you as our first guest because your organization set this up. 

So if you could tell us a little bit about why this event, why it's so important, and what do we want to try to accomplish here? Maritime is extremely important to our region. It's a dominant industry in our region, but it's, it is crucial to the economy of our region, as well as the economy and the national security of the entire nation. This industry needs talent.

People are not going into the industry as much as they used to in previous decades. So we need to promote it. We need to promote it to young people, to people changing careers, to families, to children for the future. Who's the ideal audience today because I think there's 1 ,200 people that have signed up. Who are you trying to attract and who do you think is actually going to show up? So we are trying to attract families, you know, young people, people maybe transitioning out of the military. All of those people are welcome and I think there's something here for everyone. How many people did you think that you would get and how do the numberslook so far? We were hoping for like 1 ,000 people was a goal that we would have 1 ,000 people show up. That would be great. But I understand, as of this morning, that 1 ,200 people have pre -registered. So we should have even more than that.

So that's really good. That means that people have signed up. They've already
committed some money towards it, which is a really positive indication that they're
excited about the event and will actually show up. Jackie, can you tell us some of
the organizations that are here today in participating? The Port of Virginia is here.
Crofton Industries is here. QED Systems is here. Kalan of Shipyard,
MI Technical Solutions, the Norfolk Police Department, and many others. Why do you think they're here?

hey're here because they know that we have over 30 ,000 jobs in this industry in
this region to fill in the next few years. And they're doing what they can to help
us promote the industry because it'll help them too. 30 ,000 jobs just in this
region alone that need to get filled. Yes. In this industry, now keep in mind, this
industry includes shipbuilding, that's the one everybody knows about, but shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore wind, you know, the port, all of that falls under maritime.

The HRBT expansion falls under maritime. Building the bridges that connects the
region, literally is part of the maritime industry. Literally is part of the maritime
industry, yes. Anything else that we should know about this event? It's all being
done to support and promote the regional maritime training system.
That system was developed by the Hampton Roads Workforce Council to promote the maritime industry and to get people into training and into jobs. So who's
participating in this maritime training system? So a lot of our education partners
are participating and the companies that I've mentioned, most of them are
participating, plus a whole bunch of other companies are also participating. Really,
all the key players in the maritime industry in Hampton Roads are participating in
the regional maritime training system. Everybody sees the importance. We're really
excited to be here for the Hampton Roads Workforce Council at Nauticus. We're looking forward to seeing how many people come through. There's some great displays that are here, and I'm sure that this event will probably be repeated in other venues at other times, but we really hope that we get a good representation and more people interested in joining the industry. I hope so. Thank you so much for helping to set this up.

Captain Britain, you're the captain of the port. What brought you here today? I was
asked to come here today with several of our field units to really show off what
the Coast Guard does for this area and how much we do love our maritime community.

We become a part of it each and every day.

Spoken a minute ago about this being a family in the Coast Guard, there's a lot of
families here today. Are you surprised with this turnout? It's an excellent turnout.
I am pleasantly surprised. I think that our area is really rich in maritime history.
There's a lot of people in various industries, but they're all drawn to serve. And
that's the one thing that really strikes me as I go around to all the different
booths. There's so much a legacy of service, whether it's in the shipbuilding or
dive and barge or even in our military, so many generations of people who are drawn to the sea and drawn to serve. So it's not a Coast Guard recruiting event, and you weren't here to recruit for the Coast Guard. There's a lot of industry here. 

Why does that matter to you? It matters immensely to me because one thing I've learned over 25 years of serving in the Coast Guard is it's a team sport and we do not have enough forces to do it all alone. The hallmark of this area is collaboration
and that's collaborating with our local state and federal partners on the water and
on our shoreside facilities and when we can all work together and we can foster
mutual respect for each of the roles that we all do, That's how we get out in a
more strategic way and we're always much more successful.

I'm Dr. Jessica Johnson. I am a research associate professor at Old Dominion
University's Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation, specifically working with the Virginia Digital Maritime Center. I'm also a cognitive engineer, so nerd. And so I'm also the workforce development pillar for the work that we're doing with the regional maritime groups and partners. The workforce development pillar, that sounds like that's perfectly aligned with the event that we're doing here at Nauticus today. It absolutely isn't. So a lot of our efforts truly are helping to connect pipelines from K -12, higher ed, and industry. And it's been kind of coined as K to Gray.

I did not coin it, but I use it all the time. I'm on the gray side. I get it.
I'm good. So the efforts are helping to expose and engage audiences of many
different backgrounds, different areas of the region to what we know as the umbrella of maritime within our region. So this event has been phenomenal, not just talk about skill trades, but also just maritime in general and what we would bring to the table for partners. It's a really wide net. When you talk about K to Gray,
Why? Why does that matter? Why are we talking to kids walking by? Well,
first things we know that we have an aging workforce. So number one, we have
individuals who have been in shipyards, who have been in maritime in general for
decades. That knowledge and expertise is leaving, which then leaves, of course, our partners, different, again, shipyards, organizations that are left with needing
individuals to come in and take their place. so our efforts helped to
everything we touch is water in this area. So helping to expose and engage those
who may or may not have the opportunities to do that on a daily basis. We've often
talked about, while this industry is so important in the region, so much of the
work is beyond people's view. They're behind the gates or they're out of the way
areas and hard to see it. So what are some of the things that are happening here
today that What tools, tactics, techniques are you using to try to expose people to
what the industry is really about? That is an awesome question. So downstairs, my
colleagues and I have an activity where they're designing a ship that they then
build with consumable materials. They put it inside water and we're using a sphero
robot to actually propel it through the water. So waste of number one, engage youth of any age, also to connect the technologies that may or may not be being used inside the shipbuilding and ship repair industry partners organizations that
specifically use industry 4 .0 5 .0 technologies. When I mentioned emerging and future workforce what we're trying to do is help number one are teachers in school
divisions to get access to what you mentioned with barriers to entry. So far too
often people are passing by the shipyards they may have a family member that talks about, but they can't go in and see what's all with what's happening, that anything that spans from skilled trades all the way through engineering, planning, and design.

So in some of the resources we've developed underneath what's called the Maritime Education Hub, which we've partnered with the Workforce Council, different industry partners, and education partners to actually design 360 environments to where a student could walk through a dry dock, seeing what it feels like to be standing beside an aircraft carrier, to be walking through a shipbuilding warehouse that has a submarine inside. So, number one, connecting the careers, but also in a way that's engaging for youth, from, again, K, all the way through high school and beyond.

If somebody missed this event today, are there other events that are going to happen where they'll get to see these things up close and personal again? So from our organization, we actually have a high school competition called Digital Ship Challenge, that local school divisions, we have last year about 20 different school divisions.

Now we're up to 30, maybe even 40 for this upcoming year where students are
learning the content, they're getting access to different types of technologies. That competition is always in the spring, so spring 2026. I believe that there are other types of events sponsored by the Workforce Council, Regional Maritime Training System, and then others, I believe, from community partners throughout this summer for them to access. I got to be a judge for that in 2024,
and it was amazing to see some of the ideas and the enthusiasm and the teams, the team were coming together for those high school teams that were conceiving how to build a vessel. I think the most important part of that competition and then one of the partnering organizations, the Virginia Ship Repair Association is, again, the exposure. So far too often our students, again, in this area, they envision maritime as one specific thing. The goal of those competitions and again outreach is to showcase broad spectrum of not just opportunities, but pathways. pathways for training, pathways to help if a student graduates high school, that they don't have to go to college if that's not the router vision for them. There's opportunities at community college level, apprenticeships, and then even just straight into their workforce. So we want to help better tell that narrative from people who look like the kids coming up. So for females talking about welding, talking about pipe fitting on the skilled trade side, but on the engineering side too.

Robert, we notice you here today. You just graduated from ECPI? Yes, sir. In the mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering? Yes, sir. Were you working in the skilled trades previously before going to the ECPI? Been a pipe fitter for almost 20 years. Pipe fitter for 20 years now moving into engineering. What a great progression. And I didn't know this before,
but that's exactly the kind of story that we're trying to capture here that people
can progress from skilled trades to a long career and be able to grow into
different directions. Is that kind of what you were trying to get your kids excited
about? It was. That's one of the reasons I brought them here to Norfolk to get
that experience of the water and the maritime engineering experience. Great.
Did they have fun here today? Oh they had a blast. I'm Michelle Passer. I'm the
campus director of admissions at Advanced Technology Institute here in Virginia Beach. And what does ATI do, Michelle? ATI, we are a trade school.
We specialize in folks that want to come in and build a career in a trade.
And why are you at this event in Nauticus today? Well, it's an opportunity to
network and get out there. I think, you know, just brand name recognition, getting
to meet folks. We are exposed to ranges from little children running around up to
the parents that are bringing the children around. And so it's just a chance to
maybe find that next new student and also to just, you know, continue to let people know here we are and this is what we do. Are you getting to talk with parents and students? Yeah, I am. Yes. What are they interested in? Are they surprised at all the opportunity? They excited about what they see? Oh, yeah. I mean, if you are a hands -on person, that's how you learn, you come in and you see our setup or any of the other setups that are here today, you light up. So before they even hit your table, they are grinning ear -to -ear. They want to put their hands on stuff. So they're very excited, they're very engaged, and parents are incredibly supportive
because they really want their child or their young person to be able to find
what's right for them. And so it's a really great conversation just because they are
so excited. They're curious, you know? Sometimes they're looking at welding and then
they see we do other stuff too. So they get a chance to look at all the different
opportunities they could have with us. It really helps people understand what the
skilled trades involved because it's not, it's not all dirty work and it's not just
hard labor. There's a lot of technology involved. There's a lot of,
there can be a lot of math. I mean, it's sometimes very complex stuff, but it's
almost so when you get to apply those classroom things without context, but now you
got to put your hands on and see where math matters. Why science is important.
Yes, true. What I love is that you take these students coming in, maybe they went
through high school and they did okay, but they're hands -on learners, and they
didn't quite have the right fit, and they come to a school like us, and now
they're A students, and it's amazing. And so, yeah, there's science and there's math,
but it's all applicable. So there's nothing in their program that's just there for
the sake of there. They're not going to take a history class because it's a general
education class. They're going to learn the math that they have to know to do the
job, or they're going to have to learn the science to understand how that works.
You know, in automotive or those other fields, they have to learn how one system
affects another, and they build, how do you troubleshoot that? How do you know if
this is the problem or a symptom of the problem.
Brandon, you're a repeat guest talking with us. You're sponsoring this event. What
led you to that decision? Well, I think if you go back to our previous talks
together in the podcast, I mean, I'm really excited about what I do for a living
every day, and I'm excited about the career paths that are out there for my kids,
for kids, friends of mine's children, for everyone in this area that can come be a
part of the maritime industry. So when I see the opportunity to be a part of this,
I mean, it was a no -brainer to me to join in, help sponsor the event and push
what we do for a living every day to the world. You've got one of the most
interesting setups here today that seems like it's getting a lot of people's
interest. I've talked to a couple of kids that have come by and have done the fix
the landing craft welding exercise that you've got for them. What kind of people are
you talking to? I've actually, I was just speaking with someone on my way over here
to talk to you because I think I have four applications sitting at my table right
now, two resumes.
There's young kids here, there's middle -aged children here, there's people that have
just finished high school and are looking for careers. I knew this was going to be
something for the kids. I really didn't anticipate the amount of people that have
graduated from high school that have went through a Votech or are currently at
Tyewater Tech or one of the welding schools around here that are stopping by the
table and asking, hey, who do I speak to about job opportunities? So I didn't
expect that as much as, you know, doing things fun and interacting for the kids.
But, I mean, it's happening. Question is a little bit of a setup because we came
by your booth. And I noticed somebody brought a resume book,
the presentation of the work that they've been doing. Is that what I really saw?
Yes. I don't know if a shout out to Norfolk Public Schools. I don't know if they
do that for everyone. But I asked that individual. I said, did the school help you
put this together? And they told me yes. I mean, that was probably the most
impressive resume book I've ever seen. Yeah, and there's nothing wrong if they got
help on it because it made that impression, right?
What was in that book? The certifications that they obtained from Votech,
a couple qualifications that individual is actually going to Tyewater Tech now. So
some of the quals they received from there. An OSHA 10 training certification. I
mean, it basically was a snapshot showing me everything that they've achieved in
their career welding. You sat down with that person and that person is the most
important person in your world at that moment. And I am not setting you up. This
is not stage. I could tell how important that was that you sat down with that
person going through their book as they were presenting to you what they're capable
of and what they want to do and that that speaks volumes of you it speaks volumes
of whatever program that that person came through that they took the time to prepare
for that and why events like this I think are so important right I mean honestly
you say you know it's it wasn't a setup I went down to grab something to eat that
person had come through the booth probably an hour ago and came back and I wasn't
there, and they sat there and waited for me to get back. They asked everyone where
I was at, and they waited for me to come back to present that to me. So, I mean,
like you said, it wasn't staged. That was reality. That was somebody ambitious and
hungry and looking for an opportunity, and coming to somebody like me who's ready to
give the opportunity. Leo, it looks like you just finished over at Wilson Pipe,
And they had a little project for you. Tell me what you got in your hands there.
I've got a boat, but it had a hole in it, so I had to fix it. How did you fix
it? I did this, this pen, and I filled up the hole, and then it was able to flow
after. Well, great. Well, hopefully this is interesting for you today, and thanks so
much for talking to us. Hi, I'm Elspeth McMahon. I'm the Associate Vice President
for Maritime Initiatives at Old Dominion University. O'DU's got a pretty big presence
here today. Yes. It's getting kind of late in the day as we're talking right now,
but it feels like there's been a good turnout. Yes, we were really happy with the
turnout. There were lots of people, lots of families of all different ages coming
through, learning about all the maritime careers that are here in Hampton Roads. And
we're so happy that ODU really came out in full force. We had multiple tables to
talk about our new school, what we're doing in supply chain, logistics and maritime
operations, and how we can support the maritime industry. It's really a good venue
here to show the whole career path. The region's really focused right now on skilled
trades, but I feel like families are getting a good opportunity to understand that
that's the beginning of a career, and it's not the whole picture. Yes,
absolutely. So there's all different pathways to get a good career, and that's the
key term in the maritime industry. The skilled trades are a great place,
All those organizations have been represented here today, and you can even see it in
the background here. There's entire families that are walking through from really
young kids up through. We've talked with a couple other organizations that they
expected to have kids coming through, but they're talking with career changers as
well. Have you seen that coming through your booth? I absolutely have. I've seen
kids of all ages. We just had some of our ODU students come through, which is
really great. They just wanted to see what was happening, and they're all lined up
for maritime internships this summer. And we've also seen some young kids where their
parents work in the maritime industry. And you see the interaction and just the
excitement of the dads, the moms that work in the industry explaining what they do
to their kids and then talking to other folks that work in other industries, and
just that excitement, that energy where the students, or the potential students, the
young kids are getting that exposure at such a young age. And it's also helpful
when it's not just coming from the families, but they see it from other people
their age and also other folks from industry to learn about all the different
aspects of the maritime industry. This feels like it's been a really good
presentation for people to come and, like you said, parents being able to show their
kids what they do when they can't bring them to work. Yes, that is such a great
way to put it, because a lot of these industries, you aren't able to bring
students, I keep saying students coming from the university, keep bringing their kids
to work for on the job. So the Nauticus has done such a phenomenal job and having
all these companies being here under one roof. And with dollar admission, it makes
it available to everybody. So kudos to the Nauticus for putting together and the
industry showing up. Have you been to other events like this before? Do you think
this is something that's repeatable? Absolutely. I think there's been a lot of
events. I think it's really growing. There's a good kind of presence of maritime
career events in Hampton Roads. There's always a need for more because the biggest
kind of hurdle that we have in this industry is awareness, as you know. So young
folks don't know of all the opportunities that are out there. So having events like
this is so important because it helps get the word out to the people that can grow
in these jobs. I think it's been really important and it's something that we've been
talking about in the industry for several years about not just focusing on the
people we need to hire today, but teaching people at a much younger age and
introducing them to what the industry is about and where the opportunities are and
walking around here to say look at the different displays it's a good opportunity to
show the skilled trades but all of the things that go into that absolutely and the
maritime industry is so broad that whether you want to be an accountant a nurse in
logistics and engineer there's a spot for you and a pretty good paying job and you
can stay in this region and really excel and institutions like Old Dominion
University, you can get the right training and we prepare you to have a job in
that industry.