The United States has seen the maritime workforce decline by nearly a quarter of a million people since 2004. Today, 153,000 workers and 12,000 merchant marines report to roughly 150 private and four public shipyards compared to the 20-year peak of 400,000. The reduction of skilled labor puts the Department of Defense in a weakened position and damages economic and national security. Valkyrie Enterprises’ SBIR Phase III Software as a Service (SaaS) Operationally Directed Instructional Network (ODIN) looks to ramp up the maritime industry and close the labor gap by offering workforce accelerators through its comprehensive learning and talent management digital platform.
A February 2024 U.S. Naval Institute report says the U.S. has an “insignificant” shipbuilding capacity at just .13% compared to the top three of China (46.59%), South Korea (29.24%), and Japan (17.25%). The capacity is vastly behind other countries, and the U.S. does not openly track skill competency and proficiency within our current workforce.
ODIN’s competency record keeping provides a thorough picture of a sailor’s skills throughout their career. Seeing the details of a maritime worker and extrapolating to a larger industrial view helps identify training gaps and training overload and allows maritime leaders to push and pull resources to critical areas.
The drop in workforce development is partly connected to the movement away from U.S. dominance. For decades, the U.S. Navy relied on its personnel to build and maintain its fleet. In the last 30 to 40 years, the Navy has moved away from its men and women and relied more on contractors to complete these tasks. The Navy justified the shift by saying sailors needed more training on complex weapons systems to be battle-ready. The logic is sound; the results leave much to be desired.
This change affected the other end of the feeder system. Shipbuilding contractors typically hire transitioning sailors possessing a deep knowledge of ships and hands-on expertise. Instead, sailors receive less shipbuilding instruction, forcing employers to seek out less skilled workers and “train them up." The process has eroded mastery of skills, compromised commanding officers' decision-making, and lessened employment opportunities for sailors when their service time is complete.
All three issues are addressed by ODIN as it provides a competency portfolio and resume for individuals to take with them. The documentation gives hiring managers and commanding officers a clear understanding of what areas the candidate excels at, where they need development, and a 100-foot view of what the maritime employee could become.
ODIN goes beyond record keeping. Skill development through the comprehensive, simulation-based training programs prepares a shipbuilder and instills confidence before they step onto a deck plate. ODIN creates realistic training environments to enhance learning and retention by utilizing virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality.
These factors are critical as the burgeoning electrical, appliance, and component manufacturing areas continue to ramp up and draw more human capital away from shipyards. In 2022, the manufacturing sector grew by 26,000 jobs as shipbuilding dropped by 8,000.
An average manufacturing worker may not need all of the experience or practical instruction to build an electric car battery versus working on a destroyer.
The ODIN development team partnered with Old Dominion University to use data-driven insights and created development programs for advanced nuclear energy solutions, human-machine teaming, and other modern maritime technologies to close the knowledge gap between inter-industry competition. A maritime-based company can still pull from a less proficient talent pool and develop a high-potential candidate into a realized "master."
Through continued partnerships with Naval, educational, and industrial partners, ODIN looks to expand outward and become the default learning and talent management platform to help the maritime industry. Like a rising tide, ODIN will lift all ships.
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