When Stephen Scolaro was hired by BIW in 2019, he joined the Professional Development Program and spent the majority of the next two years rotating through a series of BIW departments before he concentrated exclusively on his regular assignment working in Post Delivery Fleet Services.
The experience left him with a better understanding of the shipyard and a wealth of contacts he could draw on as he grew into his role as a project manager.
“You get to meet a wide variety of people in the shipyard – I had a pretty big network,” Scolaro said as he described the benefits of his PDP rotation at a recent kickoff meeting for the PDP Alumni Group.
The group is intended as a way for graduates to stay in touch and maintain a network of people working in different parts of the company that have a shared experience. Organizers hope getting together at least once a quarter will help with networking, personal growth and mentorship, enabling the PDP graduates to be more effective and reduce the chance they will want to seek jobs outside the shipyard.
Vince Dickinson, Vice President for Environmental Health, Safety and Planning, serves as the executive advisor for the PDP program. He said the alumni group can function like a fraternity or sorority might at a college – where even after you graduate, there’s a group of people within an organization that share a set of common experiences that keep them connected long afterward.
“This is the type of leadership and the people that are going to create the future culture at this company,” Dickinson told the group at their kickoff meeting.
Sharing stories over slices of pizza, the group included people from every corner of the shipyard. There are currently 28 PDPs working at BIW from nine classes, including 11 of them in Operations, five in Engineering & Programs, four in Supply Chain & Quality and three in Facilities.
Area Supervisor Abbie Wirta, a 2022 graduate of the program, said that one of the benefits of the PDP rotations – knowing who to call in different parts of the company – erodes over time as people move around the shipyard or leave the company altogether. The alumni group, which meets quarterly, will maintain connections that can be important in solving issues that can interfere with productivity.
The PDP alumni group should be positive for the participants as well as for BIW, Dickinson said.
“Some of you are at different points of your career, and it’s neat when you can start helping each other as you move through the company,” Dickinson said. “Having that network and common thread, it’s really powerful for your own careers. And you guys having good careers helps the company be better. It’s a win-win.”
