The U.S. Navy faces a critical shortage of skilled workers.
With a requirement to deliver one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine and two Virginia-class attack submarines each year, while simultaneously sustaining the existing fleet, the maritime industrial base needs to add more than 250,000 skilled workers over the next decade.
That’s not a projection. That’s the current requirement.
For New Hampshire, this isn’t abstract national policy. It’s a direct opportunity — and a direct challenge — for manufacturers, training programs, and job seekers right here in the Granite State.
Why New Hampshire Is at the Center of This
New Hampshire is at the center of the New England submarine supply chain. General Dynamics Electric Boat, one of the two main submarine builders in the country, works out of Groton, Connecticut, and Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Shipyards rely on components such as precision-machined parts, large weldments, and complex assemblies from suppliers throughout the region, including Manchester and Nashua.
Granite State Manufacturing is one of those suppliers. We produce precision-machined and welded components for Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines at our facilities in Manchester and Nashua, NH. Our contracts run years into the future. The work is challenging and steady.
The Workforce Gap Is Real
The Manufacturing Momentum Summit’s 2025 report named the skilled trades workforce gap as the top challenge for defense manufacturing. The report also said that traditional datasets are too broad and outdated to accurately reflect the true scale of the problem. On the ground, manufacturers feel it daily.
Experienced CNC machinists and welders are in short supply. The ones who are working have options. And the pipeline of new talent entering the trades hasn’t kept pace with the demand driven by submarine program requirements.
According to BlueForge Alliance, BuildSubmarines.com has surpassed one million apply clicks within its career portal. Interest exists, but turning that into enough skilled workers quickly remains the challenge.
What’s Being Done
Through partnerships with Nashua Community College and Manchester Community College, students can now enter an accelerated machining or welding program — funded entirely by the U.S. Navy — and come out the other side with the skills and credentials that defense manufacturers actually need. The programs are powered by SENEDIA and built on the Navy’s Advanced Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) curriculum.
These partnerships produce results. Both programs have run multiple cohorts, and GSM has hired directly from each of them — machinists from Nashua and welders from Manchester, all arriving with training tailored to the defense manufacturing environment.
The Nashua machining program runs 10 weeks at 40 hours per week, with tuition paid in full by the U.S. Navy. Zero cost to students. The Manchester welding program follows the same model. Together, they represent one of the most direct pathways into a defense manufacturing career available in New Hampshire today.
These programs don’t replace experienced tradespeople — they build the next generation of them.
What This Means If You’re a Skilled Machinist or Welder in New Hampshire
Demand for your skills has never been higher. At GSM, this work is not commodity manufacturing—it’s life-critical submarine parts that will serve the Navy for years to come.
If you are an experienced CNC machinist or welder seeking technically demanding, mission-driven, and long-term work, now is the time to act.
Join our team in Manchester or Nashua and take the next impactful step in your career. Apply now and help build submarines that matter.