Scouting can help youth find a career in this field that desperately needs workers

The U.S. Navy needs more shipbuilders.

Scouting America is doing its part to answer the call.

Through the Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program, Scouting America is proud to offer four merit badges related to the field of submarine manufacturing: Electricity, Engineering, Robotics and Welding.

Earning one or more of those merit badges could be a Scout’s first step into a rewarding — and high-paying — career.

“I love that Scouting has taken the initiative to promote some merit badges that help develop the trade skills that we’re absolutely seeking,” says Dave Duffie, a retired Navy captain who now works in the U.S. Navy Talent Pipeline Program. “If a Scout has an interest in robotics or welding or one of those other badges, and they earn a merit badge in that, that would be a huge jump for them in terms of being able to get into that industry.”

Duffie, 72, doesn’t just know a thing or two about the Navy. He’s also an Eagle Scout (Class of 1969) from Troop 105 in Arlington, Virginia, who’s served in leadership roles — including Scoutmaster, treasurer and committee member — for both of his sons’ troops. He currently volunteers as a mentor to Scouts BSA members looking to earn the rank of Eagle.

“The best thing about Scouting is that the program prepares you to be a leader,” Duffie says. “The benefits of camping and hiking and cooking and going out there and eating burnt eggs in the rain and cold early on a Sunday morning … it makes a man out of you or a woman out of you a little bit earlier than it normally would.”

Sounds exactly like the kind of person the maritime industrial base is looking for. The MIB estimates that the industry will need more than 250,000 skilled workers to help build submarines over the next decade. BuildSubmarines.com helps recruit, engage, educate and inspire the shipbuilding workforce of today and tomorrow.

Click here to learn more about the partnership between Scouting America and BuildSubmarines.com.

Scouting teaches leadership skills

After earning the rank of Eagle Scout, Duffie graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and went on to serve for 30 years, during which he commanded two ships. He retired as a captain and has been working in the defense industry ever since.

“I got the backbone of my leadership skills from Scouting,” he says.

He says the way Scouting helps youth develop those skills is similar to what he experienced in the Navy.

“The key is the way you advance up the ranks in Scouting,” he says. “You don’t come in and they just immediately give you a leadership role. You learn from the other leaders in the troop.”

The Navy has the most technologically advanced fleet of submarines in the world. Their range is unlimited. Some of them can run without refueling for 40 years. They are truly marvels of modern design and engineering.

But those ships don’t maintain and build themselves. They require workers in fields such as engineering, welding, design and machining.

Duffie says the demands of the industry have changed, and so the way the industry recruits the next generation of workers must change too. One example is the outdated idea that a young person must go to college to get a good job.

College is still great for young people who want to go that route, but Duffie says there are multiple career paths in the shipbuilding industry that don’t require a college degree — or the bills that go along with it.

“I’m a boomer, and I come from an environment where the attitude was if you don’t go to college, you’re not going to amount to anything,” he says. “But now we’re finding that a young kid coming out of high school can start off with a job like junior welder and within just a few years can be making close to $100,000 a year with no college debt.

“So there are options out there other than college.”

Scouting helps develop career paths

Students in middle school and the early years of high school don’t necessarily need to be pressured into choosing a career. However, many of them could benefit from at least thinking about a career in the defense and maritime industrial base — that network of industries and infrastructure that supports the construction, maintenance and operation of naval maritime vessels.

Working toward merit badges in Electricity, Engineering, Welding or Robotics can give a young person the foundational skills needed to dive deeper into that industry.

Electricity is a vital component in powering submarines and ensuring their systems operate smoothly beneath the ocean’s surface. Engineers are the architects of the incredible technology that brings submarines to life. Welding is essential in submarine manufacturing. And robotics technology is integral to modern submarines.

“We’re looking for people who are not worried about getting their hands dirty,” Duffie says. “We’re looking for mechanics and electricians. We’re looking for welders. We’re looking for machinists — people who work on castings and the various ways that we can manufacture the materials that support the ship. We’re even looking for software people.

“It could be anybody from a high school graduate to a young man or woman who didn’t graduate from college or went to a trade school.”

BuildSubmarines.com offers the tools to search for careers by specialty or by experience. It can also help a young person connect with training programs that could give them all the skills they need to get started in just a few months.

Scouts can also find opportunities through Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM), a national training center in Danville, Va., designed to fast-track them into a career. ATDM can help connect young people to tuition-free courses, allowing them to take 600 hours of instruction in just four months.

“It’s all fun stuff,” Duffie says. “And really, the sky is the limit.”

Click here to learn more about the Maritime Industrial Base Program, the Navy’s official effort to revitalize America’s shipbuilding and repair capabilities.