FROM TRAINING TO OPPORTUNITY
Scaling San Diego’s Shipyard Workforce Pipeline
A proven workforce model. 11 graduates. An opportunity to build what comes next.
San Diego’s maritime industry offers well-paying career opportunities for people across our region. Yet for many individuals, particularly those from underserved communities, the pathway into these careers can be difficult to access.
TMA BlueTech and its partners set out to change that.
In January of this year, we launched the inaugural Shipyard Bootcamp, an intensive workforce training program designed to prepare participants for careers in San Diego’s shipbuilding and ship repair industries.
The first cohort graduated 11 participants from underserved communities (CLICK HERE to see the graduates), demonstrating that the partnerships, training infrastructure, and community connections needed to create these pathways already exist.
Now, we have an opportunity to build on that momentum.
2026 Graduation Ceremony
JOIN US ON AUGUST 26
TMA BlueTech invites philanthropic organizations, corporate and industry leaders, public-sector partners, workforce organizations, and community stakeholders to a special virtual briefing on the future of the Shipyard Bootcamp and San Diego’s maritime workforce.
During this 45-minute briefing, we will share:
What we learned from the inaugural Shipyard Bootcamp
The people and partnerships behind the program
Results and lessons from the first cohort
The workforce needs facing San Diego’s maritime industry
Our vision for sustaining and expanding the program
Specific opportunities for organizations and individuals to help fund and scale future cohorts
This is not a proposal for an untested workforce concept.
The program exists. The partnerships exist. The first cohort has graduated. The opportunity now is to sustain it and scale its impact.
A MODEL BUILT TO SCALE
Approximately $200,000 provides the annual operating foundation needed to sustain the program and deliver one 12-person Shipyard Bootcamp cohort.
Once that foundation is established, the model can scale:
$72,000 | Additional Training Cohort
Supports the training and delivery of an additional 12-person Shipyard Bootcamp cohort.
$40,000 | Participant Opportunity Support
Helps remove financial barriers to participation by offsetting income participants may forgo while completing intensive workforce training.
$112,000 | Fully Supported Additional Cohort
Provides both training and participant support for an additional cohort of approximately 12 people.
The inaugural program demonstrated what can happen when workforce training, community outreach, industry engagement, and financial support come together.
Our objective now is to create more opportunities for more people.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This briefing is particularly relevant for:
Philanthropic foundations and individual donors
Corporate and community foundations
Maritime, shipbuilding, ship repair, and defense-industry employers
Workforce and economic-development organizations
Government and public-sector leaders
Educational and training institutions
Organizations committed to economic mobility and expanding career opportunities in underserved communities
HELP BUILD WHAT COMES NEXT
The Shipyard Bootcamp was designed to create something very practical: a pathway from opportunity to training to employment.
The first cohort showed what is possible.
On August 26, we invite you to learn what we accomplished, meet some of the people behind the program, and explore how your organization can help us build the next chapter of San Diego’s maritime workforce.
August 26, 2026
10:00-10:45 AM Pacific
Virtual
