AREA STUDENTS, TEACHERS DESCEND ON ODU FOR SHIPBUILDING, REPAIR AND MARITIME CAREER DAY

An estimated 800 K-12 students, 100 teachers and 150 industry personnel visited the Ted Constant Convocation Center March 22 for the ODU Lean Institute's fifth annual Shipbuilding, Repair and Maritime Career Day.

With an aging workforce, the region's shipbuilding industry will be seeking thousands of new workers in Hampton Roads in the years ahead. In sponsoring the Career Day, the Lean Institute addressed the nation's desire for a stronger, more applicable STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education with this need for skilled workers in the shipbuilding industry.

Career Day which ran from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., featured career information on the shipbuilding, repair and maritime industry, hands-on activities related to shipbuilding and repair, interaction with industry professionals and information about local education programs in the field, notably at ODU.

The event also included representatives from educational institutions and government agencies, according to Alok Verma, Ray Ferrari Professor of engineering technology in ODU's Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology.

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