Welcome to Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium The Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium (GSSC) was formed in 2006 to provide a forum for interaction among the shipbuilding industry in the Gulf States, to expand the number of technically skilled workers in the region...Read more

Are you involved in or do you support the shipbuilding and repair industry along the Gulf Coast? JOIN GSSC NOW	GSSC HOLDS QUARTERLY MEETING in New Orleans, LA GSSC hosted its Quarterly Meeting June 24 - 25, 2009 in New Orleans, LA.  The theme of the conference was LEARN, REFLECT, CONNECT, PLAN. Conference activities focused on workforce issues facing the shipbuilding and repair industry. Meeting Highlights: Keynote address from Ron McAlear, President of Atlantic Marine. Reception to allow members to network. Opportunity for GSSC committees to meet and report to the General Membership. Members heard updates on: GSSC's Strategic Plan GSSC's Shipfitter Boot Camp GSSC & NCCER partnership plan EdVance Training Capabilities GSSC Job Applicant Database Tools Theme for the Membership Drive Committee Activities Approximately 50 people participated in the quarterly meeting. MEETING ATTENDEE COMMENTS “This is exactly what every industry sector needs to be doing in area of workforce development."  "Great meeting!"  "Well worth the time and the trip. ”   Byron Dunn, GSSC Chairman of the Board, was well pleased with the level of participation and energy of the members.  "We are at a point now where the real work of GSSC is beginning to take place.  Our committees are active and engaged.  I believe that over the next 6 to 10 months GSSC will experience major growth," said Dunn. Regarding the Keynote message delivered by Ron McAlear, President, Atlantic Marine, Dunn stated, "I appreciate Ron McAlear taking time to address our membership.  His message was exactly what we needed to hear.  It validated that we are on the right track in most areas and also gave us a couple of things to look at.  We are here for the shipbuilders, so that type of input is vital to helping us stay on target." In his State of the Industry Report, Ron McAlear gave a clear picture of the current state of the shipbuilding and repair industry along the Gulf Coast.  Mr. McAlear discussed the current level of construction contracts, deliveries completed this year, future construction demand, short sea shipping, repair capabilities and future repair demand.  He also updated members on strides the ship building and repair industry has made in the area of safety.  Comparing the recordable incident rates of members of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) to those of general industry, Mr. McAlear showed that shipbuilding has a better safety record that does general industry. Mr. McAlear then told the membership what GSSC can do for the industry, particularly in the area of training.  He also challenged GSSC to grow the organization by expanding into Texas and Florida, getting more input from vendor members and getting upper level management of member shipyards more involved. Steve Greene, Vice President, Workforce Development, from National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) gave a presentation on NCCER, current workforce development challenges and the merits of the GSSC Board's decision to partner with NCCER and for GSSC to become an NCCER Accredited Training Sponsor.  GSSC & NCCER agreed to negotiate a partnership to develop standardized curriculum for the ship building industry.  With GSSC as an Accredited Training Sponsor, GSSC member organizations will be able to become Accredited Training Units (ATU's) and have their training staff become Certified Craft Trainers. Committees met during a working lunch and then reported to the membership after lunch.  All presentations given during the meeting are available below.   VIEW MEETING PRESENTATIONS Meeting Agenda Keynote:  Market Trends & Industry Safety Performance -Ron McAlear Shipfitter Boot Camp Update - Audrey Smallwood EdVance - Michael Pearl NCCER - Steve Greene