D.C. panel to feature Kaine, shipyard officials

Officials from Newport News Shipbuilding will join Sen. Tim Kaine in Washington Tuesday morning to discuss the challenge of filling jobs in technical fields and the skilled trades.

The panel discussion, which includes other leaders in government, education and business, will be live-streamed starting at 11 a.m.

In a recent visit to the shipyard's Apprentice School, Kaine criticized government policies that favor the pursuit of college degrees at the expense of people seeking jobs that require a technical certificate or other training.

In Virginia, for example, community colleges receive funds based on the number of students in degree-based programs, but not for people attending workforce skill programs.

Kaine has sponsored or co-sponsored three bills that seek to address the challenge of filling technical and trades jobs . He and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced a bill in July aimed at raising the quality of career and technical education programs across the county. Last week, Kaine introduced a bill to allow middle school students to explore these career options.

Kaine and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., are pushing legislation that would free up federal student loans for short-term programs that result in an certificate or credential recognized by industry. These loans are now available to students enrolled in two- or four-year degree programs.

Kaine, Portman and Baldwin head up the Senate's "Career and Technical Education Caucus."

Joining the trio for the meeting will be Danny Hunley, vice president of operations for Newport News Shipbuilding, and Everett Jordan, director of education at The Apprentice School.

The problem of filling craft and trade jobs is of particular concern to the shipbuilding and ship repair industries, one of the economic pillars in Hampton Roads.

Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, employs 23,500 people. That includes thousands of blue collar workers, such as electricians, welders, pipefitters, insulators. The company is the sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two shipyards that builds nuclear-powered submarines.

Virginia leads the nation in private-sector shipbuilding and ship repair jobs, according to a 2013 study from U.S. Maritime Administration. In fact, the state boasts 25 percent of all such jobs in the U.S., the study found.

Watch to watch?

The panel discussion on career and technical education will be live-streamed from the Dirksen Senate Office building starting at 11 a.m.

###