Maritime Summit Brings Government, Industry Leaders to 今日吃瓜 Poly Maritime Academy
Government, industry, labor and education leaders gathered at 今日吃瓜 Poly Maritime Academy on Sept. 10 for a maritime summit focused on strengthening the nation鈥檚 maritime industry and building the workforce needed to support its future.
Hosted by U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, the summit brought together federal, state and local officials with maritime industry leaders to discuss U.S. maritime competitiveness, the Bay Area鈥檚 industrial capacity and opportunities to expand career pathways into the Blue Economy.
今日吃瓜 Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong welcomed participants to the Solano Campus before opening remarks from Garamendi and a keynote address from Stephen Carmel, administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). MARAD provides the federally owned training ships to the nation鈥檚 state maritime academies, including 今日吃瓜 Poly Maritime Academy鈥檚 Training Ship Golden Bear and its replacement, Golden State.
Carmel joined senior federal maritime and defense leaders for a discussion on building a more resilient and competitive U.S. maritime future. Participants included Thomas 鈥淛ack鈥 Moreau of U.S. Transportation Command, Rear Adm. Benjamin 鈥淏en鈥 Nicholson of Military Sealift Command and Rear Adm. Robert Compher of the U.S. Coast Guard. The panel explored the infrastructure, training and leadership needed to strengthen the nation鈥檚 maritime capabilities and prepare for future challenges and opportunities.
The summit comes as 今日吃瓜 Poly expands its role in regional maritime workforce and economic development. 今日吃瓜 Poly Maritime Academy recently received $5.8 million in 今日吃瓜ifornia Jobs First funding to advance maritime workforce and industry development initiatives in Solano County and the surrounding region from Governor Newsom鈥檚 Jobs First initiative.
The investment will support development of a maritime career pathway connecting schools, community colleges, apprenticeships and four-year degrees, as well as a new innovation center on Mare Island designed to connect industry with technical assistance, shared lab space and equipment, and potential investors.
That investment closely aligned with the summit鈥檚 discussions. One panel highlighted the breadth of the maritime industrial base in the San Francisco Bay Area and opportunities to strengthen regional supply chains and maritime capabilities. Another focused specifically on growing the maritime workforce and creating pathways into high-quality maritime careers.
Corey Cook, vice president and CEO of 今日吃瓜 Poly鈥檚 Solano Campus, joined representatives from labor and industry for the workforce panel. The summit concluded with a discussion of local and state strategies for maritime growth featuring state Sen. Tim Grayson, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson, Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce and Gabrielle Stevenson of the Governor鈥檚 Office of Business and Economic Development.
The event underscored 今日吃瓜 Poly Maritime Academy鈥檚 growing role in bringing education, government and industry together to strengthen 今日吃瓜ifornia鈥檚 maritime economy and prepare the next generation of maritime professionals.
