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June 5, 2007
School and business officials in Mobile County say they hope a new program will give area high school seniors a head start in the maritime industry, where jobs have quickly outpaced supply.
School officials and representatives from Mobile's shipbuilders will discuss the High School Maritime Apprenticeship Program in detail Wednesday, at 6 p.m. at the Davidson High School auditorium, 3900 Pleasant Valley Road in west Mobile.
Designed for high school seniors age 17 to 19 in Mobile County, the program was created to support Mobile's expanding maritime industry and to open career opportunities for students, officials said.
Atlantic Marine, Austal USA, Bender Shipbuilding and Repair and C&G Boatworks have formed a partnership with Mobile County public schools and the Alabama Industrial Development Training institute to form the apprenticeship program.
Students who want to participate first have to enroll in the school system's cooperative education program, said Dorinda Phillips, the system's School-to-Work supervisor. Students also must take the WorkKeys assessment to determine if they have the skills needed to be a maritime employee, Phillips said.
Students accepted in the program will take high school language arts, math, science and history courses during the first two blocks of the regular school day, then will attend the maritime training center for three hours in the afternoon, according to a letter signed by Mayor Sam Jones that was sent to the parents and guardians of rising senior.
Apprenticeship training conducted at Maritime Science Training Center in the Brookley Complex will include workplace readiness, safety and employability skills, such as reading, writing and mathematics.
After graduation, the apprenticeship will continue three to six months with area maritime employers. The employers will provide key elements the apprentices need to become manufacturing production workers, including fabricator welders and fitters, electricians, machinists and plumbers, officials said.
Students will earn two hours toward graduation, as well as being paid $8 per hour, Phillips said.
The same assessment will be given again prior to graduation to test a student's skill level, she said. Students who score well on the assessment will receive an Alabama Career Readiness Certificate.
After graduation, those who have turned 18 will be paid during the three to six months of on-the-job training. After that, they will be considered for full-time employment.
Full-time wages are expected to range from $18 to $20 per hour, Jones said.
"The demand for maritime industry workers is phenomenal," said Herschel Vinyard, spokesman for Atlantic Marine Holding Co., based in Jacksonville, Fla. "The time is favorable for anyone looking for a career in the maritime industry. Atlantic Marine is actively recruiting people all around the world."
Vinyard said that within the next three years "hundreds" of skilled and unskilled employees who are both hard-working and drug free will be needed to fill the maritime job openings.
Ed Castile, director of Alabama Industrial Development Training, said that the goal is for 100 to 120 students to sign up. They are expected to be the first wave of workers that will be needed to fill future job openings, he said.
"There are several businesses down there that will be expanding in the next 18 to 24 months," Castile said. "This will be helping with all of that. A lot of companies have been looking at this approach because it has been successful. It's not anything brand new, really. It's just that we are doing it in Mobile."
Castile said that the institute's officials are also working now to start the Maritime Welding Program, an apprenticeship aimed at adults. That program will be similar to the Build Mobile program that is already in place at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex, he said. Castile said officials hope to start the adult apprenticeship program in September, with one class at night and two classes during the day.
"We are not trying to compete with Build Mobile, we are trying to get more people," Castile said. "The industries need more people."
The student program is similar to the apprenticeship program developed with Mercedes-Benz for high schools in the Tuscaloosa area and another program in the Auburn area.
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