As the Navy ramps up submarine production, West Islip High students are getting hands-on training in the industry

On a recent Monday, West Islip High School junior William Tarpey swapped his textbooks and notepads for protective gear, a helmet and a blowtorch.

The 17-year-old, who is enrolled in the school's welding program, was prepared at his work station just moments after the class bell rang. His task for the day was to create a mock-up hanger, a metal piece that holds pipes in submarines.

Tarpey turned on the gas for the torch, opened the vents and attached clamps to the metal piece before starting to weld. Using techniques such as t-joint and butt joint welds, Tarpey and his classmates focused on keeping their parts perpendicular. The students used levels, magnets and grinders to get the angles just right before cooling the metal pieces under water and having them inspected by their teachers.

"I'm a very hands-on student," Tarpey said. "Even when I'm learning in the classroom, when it's not welding, I prefer hands-on projects more than just reading."

Students in the West Islip class are part of a unique program that teaches high schoolers how to make commonly-used submarine parts, an initiative intended to attract more workers into the industry at a time when the Navy is looking to dramatically ramp up production of new submarines.

An estimated 140,000 skilled workers are needed over the next decade for construction of three new submarines per year, according to Erica Logan, deputy director of workforce for the Navy's Maritime Industrial Base unit. An additional 110,000 workers are needed to maintain surface ships and other naval assets, she said.

West Islip High is one of four new schools across the country asked to participate this year in the program, known as SME Prime. To date, Navy officials said about 111 schools across 23 states have gone through the program.

"It’s all about trying to build that pipeline," Logan said. "We know we need to start working early to introduce young people to manufacturing and to skill trades...These are good careers, where you could make a family-sustaining salary."

The job outlook for welders, cutters, solderers and brazers is expected to grow by 2% from 2023 to 2033, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In May 2023, the bureau estimated the median annual wage at $48,940, but on Long Island experts say there is potential to make much more.

'Five steps ahead'

At West Islip High, students are taught how to read blueprints, weld pipe hangers and use precision machinery to mold couplings, mechanical components used to connect two parts of a device. Material is donated by General Dynamics Electric Boat, a Connecticut-based company that works with the Navy to build submarines.

Edward Kozloski, who teaches welding and automotive courses at the school, said the class gives students valuable knowledge should they decide to continue with a career in welding.

"They walk in here not knowing how to weld, use a plasma cutter, a torch," he said. "They could leave this class and wind up getting an entry-level position, internship somewhere. You can go to college or trade school and be five steps ahead of everyone."

Senior Aidan Sapoff, 17, said he plans to study marine engineering and welding at Maine Maritime Academy. In addition to learning submarine welding, he said he has experience working with precision machines and automotive welding.

"You’re always working. You’re not really sitting at a desk like every other class in school," Sapoff said of the welding course. "They teach us every other style and all the techniques we need to have."

A fundamental shift

The demand for career and technical education programs and workforce development has increased in recent years, while also gaining support from top officials in the federal government, including newly-confirmed U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

There should be more of an emphasis on "career-focused education, especially in cutting-edge STEM fields where American companies need high-skilled employees," McMahon said during her confirmation hearing last month. "Our workers deserve more postsecondary pathways, career-aligned programs, apprenticeships and on-the-job learning."

Two-year public institutions with "high vocational program focus" saw an increase in student enrollment in the fall of 2024 for the second year in a row, according to a report by the education nonprofit National Student Clearinghouse. The report estimated that these institutions now "encompass 19.5% of public two-year enrollment, up from 15.3% in 2019."

Laura Galletta, program director of the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center at Suffolk County Community College, said the school has added morning and afternoon sessions, along with their evening classes, to keep up with the growing demand from individuals seeking trade certifications.

"It's growing in so many different areas," she said. "Not all schools are able to do it within their high schools, but the acknowledgment from counselors, teachers, schools districts and parents has definitely brought it to the next level."

More than 300 West Islip high school students are taking courses related to trades such as automotive, computer-aided design and precision machining, and about 400 are seeking to take courses in these areas next school year, according to Brian Buonomo, lead teacher for engineering technology. 

The high school had about 1,200 students enrolled last year, according to state data.

"Over the last five years more students are interested in hands-on careers, realizing not everyone is fit for college — or if they are going to college, they can work in something while going to college," Buonomo said.

Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said a fundamental shift has been occurring over at least the past decade.

"School districts started realizing that it’s not just college after graduation," he said. "It’s college and/or career paths, which means advanced manufacturing, working with the trade unions for carpenters, plumbers, electricians."

And with an aging population of tradesworkers, Vecchio said there is a need to bolster their ranks.

"We have a generation of workers that are entering the retirement phase," he said. "They need more highly skilled workers because Long Island has a huge manufacturing base that still exists."