Wor-Wic Community College

Wor-Wic Community College

SALISBURY, Md.- Wor-Wic Community College has a new school, the Patricia and Alan Guerrieri Technology Center. It has industry-specific equipment technologies to prepare students for the workforce. It features welding, HVACR, metal fabrication and plumbing labs; a CDL simulation lab; and other hands-on instruction areas for electro-mechanical, construction, electrical and alternative energy programs. For the community, a makerspace multipurpose laboratory has tools and 3D printers open for public use. Kristin Mallory, Vice President of Academic Affairs for Wor-Wic Community College says the school will help various industries on Delmarva hire more qualified employees. 

The programs that we offer at this new facility will create tremendous opportunity for growth in all sector areas, including manufacturing when we look at the need for welders, and for those who will be working with robotics supply chain management with various logistics, opportunities, automation, robotics. we will also be looking at various repair technologies, such as heating and air-conditioning, ventilation technology we’ve got trainers available for CDL and heavy equipment so that folks can also get certification not just in one area such as welding, but they can also pick up those additional certifications that enable them to have an opportunity to improve, not only their livelihood, but that of the surrounding area," said Mallory. "The jobs are out there. They are waiting. Chesapeake Shipbuilding will take every welder we can give them."

Steven McGee, President of Chesapeake Shipbuilding can attest to that need. 

"Right now as we continue to grow, we’re still shy at least 25 employees for our growth so most of those trades almost all of them need to be able to weld to some capacity so for us it continues to grow," said McGee. "We’ve more than doubled the workforce over the last 15 months now and programs like this, it’s good it’s real good because what we’re finding is through Wor-Wic’s program, those employees tend to come well prepared good work ethic, baseline skills that we need and they’re more successful it seems than the the average applicant."
 
McGee says there are numerous projects underway or on the horizon that will require a strong workforce. 
 

"We’ve got a cruise ship in the basin right now that’s going to be delivered in July another right behind it in two parts in the buildings two other cruise ships under contract. We also have orders for three small passenger vessels made out of aluminum ore and talks about bidding for some potential offshore and then after those they’re supposed to be another 18 or so cruise ships of different types and sizes so it’s growth. It’s a lot of work coming up and delivering three cruise ships a year," said McGee. 
 
This workload can be tricky with fewer qualified employees. 
 
"It hurts. We are in massive growth, we are now delivering three cruise ships a year we’re expanding into a lot of aluminum work as well so you know each vacancy it hurts so the growth that we have going on right now it’s due to continue all the way through 2030," said McGee. 
 
 
 

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