Free Republic

With a Navy commitment in hand to build 18 new Columbia-class nuclear submarines, Electric Boat in Groton is planning a hiring and spending spree that will be felt across the state. The company is gearing up to hire 2,000 new employees this year at its Connecticut and Rhode Island plants, with 1,350 jobs slated for Groton. Electric Boat employs about 14,500 people in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and that employment is projected to grow to 18,000 by 2030. Company President Jeffrey Geiger on Monday told business and legislative leaders during an annual update that the company will meet the Navy's...

Even as the economy slumps and unemployment rises, strong demand for power plants, oil refineries and export goods has many manufacturers and construction contractors scrambling to find enough skilled workers to plug current and future holes. With the shortage of welders, pipe fitters and other high-demand workers likely to get worse as more of them reach retirement age, unions, construction contractors and other businesses are trying to figure out how to attract more young people to those fields. Their challenge: overcoming the perception that blue-collar trades offer less status, money and chance for advancement than white-collar jobs, and that college...