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10,000
Number of skilled workers that are short in the shipbuilding industry.
The Challenge
Shipbuilding is central to the economy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, which is home to the nation’s third-largest federal civilian workforce. However, that workforce is shrinking. In 2025, the region saw a loss of more than 6,000 federal civilian jobs, a loss of 3,800 manufacturing positions, and a negative job growth rate (-1.4%). Yet employers continue to struggle to find workers for many of the jobs that remain. The shipbuilding industry, led by Newport News Shipbuilding, is short more than 10,000 skilled workers, with 40,000 positions expected to open over the next decade to keep pace with demand.
In Newport News, one-in-seven residents and one-in-four children live below the poverty lines, meaning those young people living closest to the open jobs, face a large barrier to entry. Young people from low-income families, students with disabilities, English learners, children of active-duty military, and other students who face barriers to opportunity may already participate in career and technical education (CTE) programs and earn industry credentials. These students may possess the required technical skills but lack consistent access to human development support that helps them incorporate feedback, navigate workplace norms, and persevere through adversity.
The Solution
All Hands was created by The Liminal Lab in partnership with the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce (VPCC). Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of HII, serves as the initiative’s lead employer and Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) as its lead education partner.
Together, the initiative convenes employers, educators, young people, workforce partners, and community organizations to strengthen and connect career pathways already available in Hampton Roads. Rather than creating a new program, All Hands builds on existing CTE programs and employer partnerships, adding work-based learning and human development support to strengthen the transition from school to work to succeed.
The pathway begins early, with opportunities for middle school students to explore skilled trades, discover where their interests align, build relationships and networks, and begin to see themselves in these careers. In high school, students participate in B-Unbound, Big Picture Learning’s work-based learning model, which is being introduced in Virginia through this initiative. The platform helps partners coordinate and track structured work-based learning outside regular school hours, including afternoons, weekends, and school breaks. Through B-Unbound, students are paired with industry mentors who guide their workplace experiences while helping them develop the human skills needed to navigate workplace expectations, relationships, and feedback.
What’s Next VA serves as the anchor organization for B-Unbound while providing the mentorship and career navigation that help young people connect these experiences into a pathway. Beginning as early as 11th grade, What’s Next mentors help young people navigate work-based learning with education and training options, credentials, and other resources. Mentors also help the mentees recognize and strengthen the relationships and networks they can draw on throughout their careers. That support continues as young people transition into employment and through their first year in the workforce, providing continuity beyond any single school, program, or employer.
Together, these pieces allow All Hands to build around a young person’s experience rather than the boundaries of individual programs or organizations. Students will also help shape that experience through the Youth Advisory Council, consisting of local students and recent graduates. Their perspectives will help the coalition identify barriers and continually refine a pathway that is accessible, relevant, and responsive.
Employer Partnership and Collaboration
All Hands is built to be a true employer-educator partnership. The initiative’s governance model centers on a Champions Table, which brings together the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News Public Schools (NNPS), Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC), the Hampton Roads Workforce Council (HRWC), and The Liminal Lab. Together, the Champions Table will review performance data, make strategic adjustments, and collaborate on cross-partner decisions. Newport News Shipbuilding serves as the lead employer, alongside representatives from one small business and one mid-sized business, giving employers of different sizes a voice in the initiative’s direction.
Building on the Champions Table, All Hands will convene an employer-educator working group that aligns curriculum with employer competencies, drawing on existing CTE pathways at VPCC and NNPS and tying them to credentials with improved hiring outcomes. The curriculum working group will focus on the importance of shared language and community engagement for their employers. It will decide on shared definitions of competency, readiness, and a credential of value, so everyone is building toward the same goals. The initiative will track student participation, mentor engagement, and work-based learning progress so partners can assess performance, make adjustments, and remain accountable to shared goals.
Scaling and Anticipated Impact
All Hands has established the following targets for the grant year:
- Strengthening employer engagement in workforce development with at least 10 employers hosting work-based learning experiences by the end of the grant year.
- Increasing the diversity of career and technical education with the launch of at least two new or improved employer-designed CTE pathways of more than 40 students.
- Building career readiness with opportunity youth, with the aim to increase their workplace identity and feelings of belonging. The goal is for at least 70% of participating students to report a positive workplace identity and sense of belonging in pre- and post-program surveys.
- Striving for employer-defined readiness where at least 80% of participating employers will report that candidates are job-ready by the end of the program.
These measures complement NNPS's Elevate 2030 plan, Empowering Every Learner, which includes annual targets to increase CTE enrollment by 10%, industry credentials earned by 5%, and high-quality work-based learning by 15%. All Hands is designed to go deep before going wide, first expanding participation among young people, employers, schools, and families in communities already served before moving into new areas.
Why the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce?
The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce is well-positioned to serve as the initiative’s business intermediary, drawing on relationships with employers, educators, and workforce organizations across Hampton Roads. All Hands supports the region’s maritime workforce pipeline through early career development, complementing the Hampton Roads Workforce Council’s nationally recognized Hampton Roads Maritime Training System (HRMTS). The initiative’s most important infrastructure is the trust its partners have built over time.
Newport News Shipbuilding has long held a leadership role on the Virginia Peninsula Chamber's board. Dr. Shameka N. Gerald, who developed All Hands through The Liminal Lab, also previously partnered with Newport News Shipbuilding to connect Heritage High School students with engineering and technical career opportunities. All Hands gives those existing relationships a focused workforce purpose.
Xavier Beale, vice president of human resources at Newport News Shipbuilding, says the company "recognizes that cultivating early engagement with the next generation of shipbuilders is critical to sustaining the industrial capability required for the future."
Through All Hands and sustained employer partnerships, young people can gain more than an initial job. They can build the relationships, confidence, and direction needed to pursue lasting careers in the community that raised them.
Learn more about the Pathways with Purpose initiative.
