The shipbuilding industry in Louisiana just got a shot in the arm with the Small Business Administration granting Fletcher Technical Community College nearly $5 million. Carrie Cortez, the vice chancellor for academic affairs and workforce initiatives at Fletcher, says the school will use that money to offer hands-on practical training, which the school affectionately calls “boot camp.”
“Those are going to include ship fitting, pipe fitting, pipe welding and marine electrical,” Cortez explained.
Cortez says Fletcher will also use that money for manufacturing-specific business instruction.
“Some of the topics will include federal contracting, system registration, financial management, and then just capability development overall,” Cortez said.
Cortez says Fletcher will focus its workforce training and technical assistance to small manufacturers in southeast Louisiana.
“We are planning to serve six parishes, which will include Terrebonne Lafourche, Assumption, St. Mary, Iberia and St. Martin,” Cortez noted.
Fletcher is one of 11 organizations across the country which received a portion of $50 million through the SBA’s Manufacturing in America Empower to Grow Grant Initiative.
