Marine Candidates Still Face Obstacles Finding a Job in Today’s Workforce

Working in a San Diego Shipyard can be demanding, highly skilled, and require a large amount of know-how just to get your foot in the door. An article from gCaptain shows that one of the main difficulties facing prospective mariners is the complexity of finding available jobs, how confusing and difficult applying to those jobs can be, and a lack of an awareness of available positions.

“We often see highly skilled marine candidates who have a lot to contribute to San Diego’s working waterfront, but they aren’t sure what the right path is to get them into the industry. We love being able to provide this guidance and support to these highly skilled workers, many of whom go on to high level jobs with our clients,” said Alan Biliti, Marine Division Account Manager at LEAD San Diego.

Marine candidates who partner with LEAD Marine San Diego will be trusted with some of the most demanding jobs in the industry, including large high stakes defense contracts. Often this requires formal training or past experience in shipyards, and for marine candidates new to the profession, even having the required skills sometimes isn’t enough.

“The barrier to entry for shipyard work is high for a reason,” Alan said, “LEAD Marine San Diego is recruiting and delivering employees to repair ships that will be operating in potentially dangerous situations once they’re back on the water, and their refit and repairs in the yard must be done correctly. LEAD takes that responsibility very seriously, so we have a rigid prescreening process that ensures our clients will only receive the most dedicated marine craft employees for their team. The best part of this job is finding a candidate who has all the skills and personal qualities for this work, but needs an extra layer of support in finding a job, and we get to facilitate the perfect match of employee and employer.”

An Appreciation for Responsibility

Alan’s awareness of the responsibility placed on shipyard workers comes from his years in the United States Navy, working as a Gas Systems Mechanic where he travelled through the South Pacific seas helping train Philippine sailors on decommissioned US ships.

“When you’re on the open ocean and the closest land is ‘seven miles down’ as they say, you have to have faith in the repair crew who worked on your vessel during its haul out,” Alan said, “I want every sailor who works on our ships to be able to trust in the quality of our craftsmanship and the diligence of our supervisors in ensuring the job is done right. It’s absolutely crucial that we onboard people who have an appreciation for the responsibility they are taking on.”

Alan and his team regularly fill positions for marine electricians, pipe welders, riggers, ship fitters, ship mechanics, ship superintendents, specialty welders, and structure welders.

While it can be daunting for marine candidates to hear about the responsibility placed on their shoulders, for many of the best candidates that’s exactly why they want to be involved in the shipyard industry. Partnering with LEAD Marine San Diego is one way for these candidates to overcome the obstacles of joining a shipyard and get positions they wouldn’t be able to get without the support of a staffing partner.

“Ship building and repair is not for everybody,” Alan said, “But even the perfect candidate with all the right qualifications can be mystified by the application process and unsure of where to turn next. We encourage such workers to reach out to our office at 619-468-2372 to hear about the benefits of partnering with our safety award winning program.”

LEAD Marine San Diego has a geographic reach from nationwide, Virginia, Florida, San Diego, Wisconsin, Seattle, Hawaii, with a focus on high level, tough-to-fill positions that frequently lead to permanent jobs with the client’s their matched with in the Industrial and Marine sectors.

Call Alan at 619-468-2372.