The Maine Community College System will partner with General Dynamics Bath Iron Works to deliver technical training to up to 90 trainees, in order to produce workers it needs to help fill hundreds of jobs, MCCS announced.

The new training, a partnership between the MCCS Maine Quality Centers program, Southern Maine Community College and BIW will provide training for up to 60 manufacturing technicians and up to 30 welders. Participants who successfully complete the training will then be interviewed for positions at BIW. Those who are hired will receive additional, job-specific training in the shipyard’s Trades Learning Center.

BIW is among the largest private employers in Maine with about 5,700 employees. With many of its most experienced workers nearing retirement, BIW needs more employees who are trained in specific skills in demand at the shipyard.

“Our training partnership with BIW helps the company address its ongoing need for skilled workers and helps prepare more Maine people for high-paying careers,” said MCCS President Derek Langhauser. “This is an excellent example of the kinds of workforce training that Maine’s community colleges are providing across the state to help businesses build a skilled workforce and a stronger Maine economy.”

The training is scheduled to begin in January and take place at SMCC’s Midcoast Campus in Brunswick. The training includes welding fundamentals, as well as a program that explores ship fitting,  pipefitting and general laborer trades and covers topics from blueprint reading and power tool operation to tool safety and math.

SMCC’s Workforce Development Department will oversee the training.

Contact SMCC’s Workforce Development Department at (207) 741-5951 or workforceregistration@smccme.edu for more information.