The University of South Alabama’s Office of Community Engagement has completed its work under a $250,000 Defense Industrial Base Institute grant, capping a year-long project aimed at strengthening the Gulf Coast’s maritime workforce and raising awareness of shipbuilding and skilled-trade careers in the region.
The Navy-funded grant, awarded in June 2025, was developed in partnership with Northeastern University and focused on resilience and sustainability in the region’s defense industrial base. Dr. Joél Billingsley, vice president for Community Engagement at South, said the project connected the university directly with the region’s skilled-trade institutions and major developments such as the Mobile Naval Yard.
“This grant involved South joining Northeastern University as a partner, connecting our academic institution directly with skilled trade institutions and major regional developments like the Mobile Naval Yard,” Billingsley said.
Four Core Components
The project centered on four main efforts. Researchers conducted 100 stakeholder interviews with community and industry leaders to gauge workforce needs and gaps. A regional working group examined how higher education programs align with the maritime industry’s needs. The grant also funded a STEM Maritime Launchpad program aimed at exposing high school and graduate students to maritime career pathways, and it supported workforce development partnerships with Bishop State Community College centered on shipfitting, pipefitting and welding careers.
Dr. Steven Scyphers, associate professor and chief sustainability officer in the university’s Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, said the initiative was designed to link multiple pieces of the regional workforce pipeline. He said the project “laid a foundation for long-term economic prosperity across the Gulf Coast region” by tying together community engagement, higher education, STEM education and trade certification pathways.
Part of a Broader Push
The completed grant comes as the Gulf Coast’s shipbuilding and defense industries continue to expand, driving demand for skilled trade workers in fields such as welding, pipefitting and shipfitting. Partnerships between universities, community colleges and industry have become an increasingly common tool for building the pipeline of workers needed to support that growth, particularly in a region anchored by major employers tied to the Mobile Naval Yard and related maritime industries.
University officials framed the completed initiative as a foundation for continued collaboration between South, Northeastern and regional partners like Bishop State as the area’s defense and maritime sectors continue to grow.