Hutchinson Aerospace & Industry, Inc., selected to participate in New England Talent Pipeline Project
Pictured in photo: (l-r): Joseph Barto IV, program manager at TMG, Inc.; Pol Feliu Colon, high security area technician; Joe Barto III, founder and president at TMG, Inc.; Giovanni Ferrara, machinist; Erica Logan, deputy director submarine industrial base, PEO Strategic Submarine; Bob Anderson, CEO at Hutchinson Aerospace and Industry; Meganne Atkins, AUKUS executive director; Giany Rivera, high security area technician; Command Master Chief Jeffrey Hiscocks, PEO Team Submarine; and Ambrose (Bo) Brewer, program analyst at TMG, Inc.
Hutchinson Aerospace & Industry, Inc., selected to participate in
New England Talent Pipeline Project
The US Navy-funded project provides employers with tools and resources to increase their capacity to build submarines
HOPKINTON, Mass. — Taking advantage of the opportunity to enhance its workforce recruitment efforts, Hutchinson Aerospace & Industry, Inc., was selected to participate in the New England Talent Pipeline Project (NETPP), a U.S. Navy-funded project that provides employers with the tools, training and resources they need to increase their capacity to build submarines.
The inaugural National Signing Day event was held in Boston on May 30, during which the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) program along with local shipbuilding companies and suppliers, elected officials and community leaders gathered to celebrate its partnerships with 31 employers and the future of the defense workforce.
Hutchinson, known for the development of unique and custom solutions for shock attenuation and vibration isolation mounting systems, is the global leader in protecting equipment and systems, managing shock loads and isolating structure borne noise in naval environments.
“We have been pretty progressive with our recruitment efforts, and participation in the NETPP will allow us to increase our impact tremendously,” said Joanne Cook, vice president of human resources at Hutchinson. “We have been steadily building our workforce pipeline, but the training, support and connections we’re receiving as part of the project are already making a significant difference.”
Joe Barto IV, program manager at TMG, Inc., the company engaged to administer the NETPP, explained the impetus around the creation of the NETPP.
“The Columbia class submarine program is the number one priority in the Department of Defense,” he said. “The Navy did a study and determined it needs to hire 10,000 people in the submarine industrial base for the next 10 years in order to deliver those boats on time. Unfortunately, we do not have a very large manufacturing base as a whole in the United States anymore—and specifically in the submarine world, we need welders, machinists and those types of workers.”
Completely funded by the U.S. Navy, the goal of the NETPP is to energize and engage the American economy by creating and sustaining a maritime and defense industrial base-focused talent pipeline that enables employers to re-capitalize their workforce through recruiting, hiring, training and retaining skilled workforce members with critical trade skills for one year as productive and engaged new employees.
Barto noted, “With the low unemployment rate now, if you're a skilled worker in America and you want a job, you have a job. So, employers looking for someone who's got 20 years of welding experience are going to have to poach from somewhere else. In today's recruiting environment, you’ve got to hire people who don't have any skills but are the right fit for your organization, and then train them. That's where the behavioral-based interview process comes in.”
NETPP components include things like leader retention workshops, training around engagement and creating an engaged workforce, and behavioral interviewing training. The program also helps employers connect to important pipelines such as vocational schools, military veteran organizations, community colleges, inner-city organizations and workforce development agencies that can supply a steady stream of applicants.
About Hutchinson
Formerly Barry Controls, Hutchinson Aerospace & Industry, Inc., was founded in 1943 to solve shock and vibration problems for the U.S military. Acquired by Hutchinson in 2000 and serving a wide range of diverse global customer applications with extensive materials expertise, the company is recognized today as a world leader in the development of unique and custom mounting solutions needing shock attenuation and vibration isolation. Additionally, Hutchinson is now well recognized as a specialist in custom system design and analysis, innovators in manufacturing, and engineering partners with its customers. To learn more about Hutchinson, Inc., visit hutchinsonai.com.