The region has successfully recruited entry-level workers to its shipyards and ports. But now it’s struggling to fill more advanced roles.
“You have a lot of folks that are retiring shortly,” said Joe Frummel, office manager for Virginia Ship Repair Association. “They’re taking their 40, 45 years of experience with them when they retire. There is a gap between the entry level and the experience of retiring.”
Andrew Nissman, senior director of development and communications at the Hampton Roads Workforce Council, called this gap the “missing middle” in the region’s workforce…