Demand is Building for Marine Construction Classes

A growing need for a skilled workforce of ship builders in Northeast Wisconsin convinced NWTC to create a new marine construction program.

Interest is so high in just the first year, the technical college can hardly keep up with demand.

A welding class at NWTC is full. There's a waiting list of students who want to be right where Amy Rangel is.

Rangel lost her job in Illinois and wound up in Marinette, enrolled in the new marine construction program.

"I never thought I was going to go back to school ever, but as I got older I kind of wanted to do something, and I'm not the office-type of gal," she said.

By summer she'll have her diploma and be ready to work -- with one employer in mind.

"Marinette Marine, hopefully," she said.

The rest of the class has the same goal.

"Work at Marinette Marine," Kevin Henquinette said.

"It's pretty easy to get a job there. If you want one, you basically have one," student Chris Barribeau said.

It's the surge of openings at Marinette Marine and other area ship builders that prompted NWTC to create this program in the first place.

"It's like, 'Hey, I want to get into one of those places, how do I get that employment?' And this is one of the avenues to get there," instructor Dale Lange said.

Employers have long been telling us there are jobs but not the skilled workers to fill them.

Lange thinks this new program helps fill that void.

"There's a lot of emphasis now because this is a future. It's a very much expanding area in our area right now," he said.

Already the school has added more classes and instructors to meet demand.

For those enrolled, the opportunities that come with this new program seem endless.

"To build a ship, really, and to do something I haven't done," Henquinette said.

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Demand is Building for Marine Construction Classes