Ingalls Shipbuilding Partnering With Local High Schools To Construct Talent Development Labs

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Aug. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division is partnering with three local high schools to construct talent development labs to bolster each of the school’s technical programs, especially in shipbuilding.

“We are helping local schools create state-of-the-art career training facilities,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. “These new labs will feature the best equipment and training aids in the market, enabling our communities’ educational professionals to develop the best craftsmen in the country. Our shared goal is to provide students the opportunity to build a solid future for themselves and their families, while also nurturing a strong talent pool for our shipyard’s next-generation workforce.

“Our employees are partnering with the schools and instructors to teach these students how to weld, use machinery and other shipyard crafts,” Cuccias said. “They will also learn how to work safely and how to transition into industry by learning basic life skills.”

Once the three programs are up and running, there may well be an opportunity for growth at other schools as well.

Moss Point High School and Alma Bryant High School in Irvington, Alabama, will have development labs completed in this school year, and Pascagoula High School’s will be completed in 2019. The superintendents of the school districts laud the program and commented on what the labs will mean to their students:

• “The partnership shared by the Moss Point School District and Ingalls Shipbuilding is a longstanding relationship that has recently experienced new depths,” said Moss Point’s superintendent, Dr. Shannon Vincent Raymond. “Our students now have access to an up-to-date welding lab that is in line with the expectations of the shipyard, giving our graduates advantages that did not exist prior to this last project. As a district, we are thankful to the entire Ingalls team for being ‘all in’ and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure the continued growth of the Moss Point School District students and the community it serves.”
• “We are excited about the opportunities our students are going to have through this partnership with Ingalls Shipbuilding,” said Chresal Threadgill, superintendent of Mobile County Public Schools. “Our welding students will be learning real-life skills to prepare them for jobs in the maritime field, which is exactly what we mean when we say that Mobile County Public Schools are preparing students to be college and career ready. I would like to thank Ingalls Shipbuilding for its confidence in our students and for the resources that the company is investing at Bryant High School and in our future workforce.”
• “The Pascagoula School District is very excited about the partnership with Ingalls Shipbuilding to create work-ready employment opportunities for our students,” said Superintendent Wayne Rodolfich.

In addition to the renovations to the facilities, Ingalls will provide the schools with safe and modern welding equipment, ensuring industry standards are met, which will provide an easier transition from student to professional. Ingalls is also providing all of the necessary safety equipment and will use training modules to ensure proper use and fitting.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Integrated Missions Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 39,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:

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Bill Glenn



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