Bartlett Lauds Partnership with Unions, Calls for Expansion of Rotational Workforce

The shipbuilding industry today has tremendous opportunities for all skilled trades workers, even those who do not live near the coasts and may have never worked in a shipyard before. That was the message Bartlett Maritime Corporation Founder and CEO Edward L. Bartlett, Jr. delivered to the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Construction Sector Conference in Miami Beach, Fla., on April 1, 2025. 

Bartlett described the company’s Rotational Workforce Program, an ongoing pilot effort in cooperation with the Boilermakers, that puts qualified welders from across the country into a shipyard on a rotational basis to increase workforce capacity beyond the geographical boundaries of the location.

Bartlett said that while shipbuilders have been aggressively recruiting new talent, the national shipbuilding challenge requires that we “look to the heartland of our nation and find people who have the skills, training and experience to do these jobs – but who don’t want to leave their homes and permanently relocate near the shipyards or other key suppliers.” 

The rotational workforce model has been used successfully in the energy industry aboard oil platforms and in remote oil fields for decades, according to Bartlett, but has not been routinely applied to the shipbuilding and ship repair industry. The current demand for skilled trade workers in the shipyards requires the new approach.

Bartlett acknowledged that shipbuilding is difficult but rewarding work.

“Ships, and particularly our submarines, operate in an unforgiving environment,” Bartlett said. “We need today’s shipbuilders to build great, rugged and highly capable ships for the heroic men and women who will take them to sea. 

“And just like the sea is an unforgiving place, our shipyards are and must be an unforgiving environment as well.”

Bartlett told the Boilermakers that his company’s pilot program currently underway has already provided a wealth of lessons learned for all involved and has great potential for expansion.

“Working in partnership with the [Boilermakers] union and our customers, we are ironing out the kinks,” Bartlett said. “This is most definitely worth the effort.”

A video of Bartlett’s full presentation to the conference is available here.