Congressman Joe Courtney and Senior US Department of Defense Officials Announce Junior Achievement Workforce Development Contract
Vernon CT – Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and Adele Ratcliff, US Department of Defense’s Director of Director of Innovation Capability and Modernization (ICAM), today announced a new 5-year, $12.5 million contract with Junior Achievement USA for an innovative new shipbuilding career-inspiration program for K-12 students with a focus on submarine industrial based careers for the next generation of workers.
The JA Maritime program and contract will be implemented in Connecticut by Junior Achievement of Southwest New England (Hartford) and in Rhode Island by Junior Achievement of Rhode Island (Providence). It will be the first program of its kind to deliver a common industry-based curriculum and submarine industry career inspiration experiences to students across multiple school districts and seeks to address the significant workforce challenges for an industry that is crucial to both national security and economic stability. The program will be designed to be replicated in regions throughout the country and over the course of the five year contract, JA Maritime will introduce more than 60,000 students to careers in shipbuilding and submarine manufacturing, develop a long-term talent pipeline, drive diversity and inclusion in the industry, and partner with industry to meet their needs and build an ongoing partnership network.
As Congressman Joe Courtney shared, “Congress’ aggressive push to recapitalize the Navy’s submarine fleet requires massive growth at Electric Boat shipyard in New England and critical suppliers nationwide. Central to meeting that demand signal is keeping up the strong hiring pace we are seeing at Electric Boat with 5,300 hires last year and over 3,000 so far this year. This new federal award will help meet that decade’s long effort by inspiring and educating young students on the great careers and opportunities available in the shipbuilding sector. Kudos to the excellent team at Junior Achievement of Southwest New England for their work to secure this grant,” Courtney said.
“This partnership is a clear demonstration of Junior Achievement’s commitment to being a true solution provider to both the education and business community” said Jeremy Race, Junior Achievement of Southwest New England’s President & CEO.”We are honored to partner with Federal Government on such a meaningful and impactful program that will benefit the Nation for generations to come.”
The new JA Maritime contract will be celebrated on Thursday October, 17th with an announcement event at BNL Industries in Vernon, CT, a US Navy supplier of industrial valves for both submarines and surface ships.
Key Attendees:
- Congressman Joe Courtney
- Adele Ratcliff, Director of Director of Innovation Capability and Modernization (ICAM)
- Chris Bain, President, BNL Industries
- Jeremy Race, President & CEO, Junior Achiement of Southwest New England
Event Details:
Thursday, October 17, 2024 11:15 am
BNL Industries
30 Industrial Park Rd, Vernon, CT 06066
About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA learning experiences are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, Junior Achievement is expanding its reach to 18-to-25-year-olds to provide young adults with critical life skills, as well as to pre-K youth to ensure children get a solid head start. Today, JA reaches more than 4.4 million students per year in 102 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
About BNL Industries
BNL Industries focuses on customized maritime valve design, engineering solutions and production to fit their customers’ unique requirements. Founded in 1987, BNL’s valves have been included on every ship-class built by the Navy and Coast Guard for the p