Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., has opened a new 7,200-sq.-ft. workforce training center at its Gulfport, Miss., facility, in an effort to expand the pool of skilled tradespeople available to the U.S. shipbuilding industry.
The company developed the center in partnership with the Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) Program Office and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. It will offer bootcamp-style training in marine electrical, electronics and sheet metal mechanics, with classes set to begin in fall 2026.
The SIB Program Office, a Navy initiative, funds efforts to expand the supplier base, grow the skilled workforce, and advance manufacturing technologies supporting submarine construction and maintenance.
"This training center is a testament to Bollinger's commitment to investing in the next generation of skilled maritime workers," Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, said in a statement. "By partnering with the Submarine Industrial Base Program Office and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, we are creating a direct pipeline of qualified talent that will strengthen not just our operations in Gulfport, but the broader national shipbuilding workforce."
The facility builds on a bootcamp program Bollinger launched in 2024, which runs 14-week apprenticeship courses for shipfitters, pipefitters, and pipewelders. The company said the program has drawn more than 4,000 applicants from 22 states since it began, a span of less than 19 months.
Applications have grown with each cohort, rising roughly 700% between the first and sixth bootcamps, according to Bollinger. The most recent class drew about 1,200 applicants, a 53% increase over the prior cohort.
Graduation rates have also risen, from 61% in the first bootcamp to 80% in the most recent specialty cohort, with an overall 2025 graduation rate of 75%, the company said. About 70% of graduates have stayed on at Bollinger after completing the program.
The new center comes as shipyards across the country face pressure to expand capacity and build out a skilled labor pipeline to support Navy shipbuilding programs, including submarine construction, and broader efforts to shore up the domestic maritime industrial base.
Bollinger has operated for 80 years as a builder of military patrol boats, salvage and research vessels, offshore support vessels, tugboats and barges, and is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf region, according to the company.
