U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan told the Surface Navy Association’s national symposium on Jan. 13 that U.S. naval shipbuilders must hire a quarter-million workers over the next decade to build President Donald Trump’s Golden Fleet.
“Systems don’t build ships. People do,” Phelan said, reported U.S. Naval Institute News. “A quarter of the shipyard workforce is retirement eligible within five years. Over the next decade, shipbuilders and suppliers will need to hire roughly 250,000 skilled workers to meet demand. That means apprenticeships, vocational training, accelerated pipelines and partnerships with local communities. It also means paying fair wages … consistent build schedules so shipyard workers can have lifetime careers. AI and automation do not replace the workforce.”
