The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) approved an apprenticeship partnership with Lamar State College Port Arthur (LSCPA) involving 22 months of training in shipfitting, according to Dr. Ben Stafford, vice president for Workforce & Continuing Education at LSCPA.
Stafford said apprentices will be in school half-day four days per week and will work at Gulf Copper the other half of their day.
He noted apprentices will be learning the skills to construct a variety of naval vessels including specialized skills for building ice breakers.
“Apprentices are paid for the hours they work at the shipyard and experience progressive wage increases as they move through the program,” said Stafford.
He said the program’s gaol is to more than 700 new shipfitters for the Port Arthur facility. The first cohort of students has already been chosen and training started Jan. 26.
According to Stafford, they will begin interviewing for the next cohort of students immediately for them to start in May or June.
He said all potential apprentices must interview with Gulf Copper in order to be accepted.
After acceptance, students register with the college for training. In the first cohort, there were 40 applicants and only 15 slots to fill.
“These are elite positions and are the only opportunity in our area to work and be paid as you train,” said Stafford. “To me, the most important thing about these positions is that they are not ‘gig work.’”
At LSCPA, Stafford said, the college trains a lot of pipefitters, ironworkers, riggers, and welders, most of the work available, however, is period construction work.
“We are blessed that construction in our area is pretty consistent, but these workers still experience breaks in employment. The work the shipyard is committed to will keep the apprentices employed for the rest of their careers,” he added. “I’ve been at the college for 16 years and this is the most significant opportunity I’ve seen in that time.”
LSCPA’s workforce programs prepare students for jobs in sectors regulated or influenced by the DOL, with the college sometimes citing DOL data (like from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) to show career opportunities in areas like Surgical Technology or other skilled trades.
Gulf Cooper is a marine and industrial services company specializing in ship repair, drydocking, and fabrication for oil/gas, government and marine sectors.
