by Tyler Arnold
Virginia received a $5 million federal grant to fund a K-12 to university training pipeline intended to produce shipbuilding workers for the Navy, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.
The money, which the Department of Defense awarded to the Virginia Defense Manufacturing Community, will be used to teach skills to students in the Danville and Norfolk areas that would prepare them to work for defense manufacturing industries. It is designed to boost the local workforce in those industries with local people.
“Our maritime defense manufacturing industry is vital to the nation’s security and a critical part of our economy,” Northam said in a statement. “Virginia is a recognized leader in defense manufacturing. This groundbreaking partnership will help diversify and modernize the nation’s best maritime workforce to build and sustain the world’s best Navy, while providing young people a pathway toward fulfilling jobs in a high-tech, well-paid industry.”
According to the governor’s office, the investment will lead to better manufacturing capacity, resiliency and diversity in the maritime defense industry. The money will grant elementary school students manufacturing opportunities and will grant older students access to curriculums that will teach them manufacturing discipline. It will also also provide them with employment opportunities in high school and higher education institutions.
“This initiative presents a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our country’s defense workforce,” Acting Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Kathleen Jabs said in a statement. “The entire grant development process required and fostered collaboration among federal, state, and local entities as well as private businesses, academia, and regional economic alliances. We’re excited about the investment in the future beginning with Virginia’s youngest learners.”
Virginia has a large number of defense contractor jobs based on its proximity to Washington, D.C. and its
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Tyler Arnold reports on Virginia and West Virginia for The Center Square. He previously worked for the Cause of Action Institute and has been published in Business Insider, USA TODAY College, National Review Online and the Washington Free Beacon.
Photo “Navy Destroyers” by U.S. Navy CC BY 2.0.
