Electric Boat to launch Rhode Island submarine training center
General Dynamics subsidiary Electric Boat will invest $25 million to create a submarine workforce training center in Warwick, Rhode Island, in partnership with the New England Institute of Technology.
General Dynamics subsidiary Electric Boat agreed to invest $25 million to establish a submarine workforce training center in Warwick, Rhode Island, in partnership with the New England Institute of Technology.
The new Shipbuilding Advanced Institute for Learning, or SAIL, will expand NEIT’s existing campus training space from 30,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet, according to the press release.
The school estimates about 3,000 new workers are expected to go through SAIL over the next three years before transitioning to EB’s Quonset Point shipyard in North King, Rhode Island.
In addition to EB’s investment, NEIT’s expansion is backed by $20 million awarded through the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base program office. The SIB focuses on investing in its supply chain, workforce and manufacturing technology for submarine production and sustainment.
The campus expansion will include adding 20 classrooms designed to combine classroom instruction with hands-on skill building in areas such as welding, shipfitting, pipefitting, machining and electrical.
The forthcoming workforce training center aligns with EB’s strategy to hire 8,000 employees in 2026. A memo from EB President Mark Rayha informed workers that the company intends to hire 3,500 laborers at its Quonset Point shipyard; 2,500 at its facility in Groton, Connecticut; 1,000 in engineering and design; and 1,000 more throughout the company, The Day reported in February.
The SAIL center expands NEIT and EB’s training partnership. NEIT has been training EB workers in welding, shipfitting and machining through its Shipbuilding and Manufacturing Institute, according to the press release. NEIT established SAMI in 2013 with funds from the U.S. Labor Department. To date, over 4,500 new EB workers have been trained there, and thousands of career employees have undergone continuing education through SAMI.
EB also has training programs with the Community College of Rhode Island, as well as Three Rivers Community College and Quinebaug Valley Community College in Connecticut.
The SAIL plans follow the Navy announcing on July 29 two contracts with EB worth a total of $76.6 billion. Each of the contracts separately would be the largest in EB’s 127-year history and parent company General Dynamic’s 74 year history, Mark Nackman, vice president of contracts, said in a video about the announcement.
The modified contracts include $29.5 billion for five Columbia-class fleet ballistic missile submarines, and $42.1 billion for nine additional Virginia-class attack submarines, according to the Defense Department. The funds will also go toward a “tenth shipset of material” and shipbuilder productivity efforts.
Additionally, EB negotiated for “incentive-laden” deals for its workforce. The company faces “unprecedented level pressure” from President Donald Trump, DOD and the Office of Management and Budget to rapidly deliver the submarines, Mark Nackman, EB’s contracts vice president, said in the video.
EB recently established an employee incentive program that aligns with the submarine builder and workers’ goals. With the extra funds from the contract, it will allow the company to provide bigger bonuses to its workers in an effort to accelerate production and meet a number of various scheduled dates, Nackman said.
“Obviously, the final date of actually delivering the ship is the most important thing, but the incentives are structured in a way that each step along the way we’re incentivized to be going as fast as we can,” Nackman said.
“We’re all in this together, so if the company achieves its goals and we’re able to hit the performance milestones that we’ve committed to as a business, the employees will benefit with that,” Rocco Cavalieri, CFO and senior vice president of business operations, said in the video. “I think it’s a great opportunity for people to earn additional dollars.”
U.S. forces have been experiencing missile and drone systems shortage amid the Iran war, which began in February. In June, Trump met with defense company executives, urging them to accelerate production as the U.S. weapons stockpile depletes, The New York Times reported.
The training center will support the 8,000 hiring target and the $76.6 billion contract work, with the workforce incentive program aiming to accelerate production and meet scheduled dates.
