In hunt for a career, hundreds flock to EB fair in Westerly

12 Jan 2018


Cyrus Connors stood in line at the Westerly Education Center, waiting to speak to an Electric Boat staffing representative about his interest in becoming a shipfitter or sheet metal worker.

Connors is a 2015 Grasso Tech alumnus and works in construction, so he has the carpentry-based skills that would suit him well in shipfitting. His grandfather was a sheet metal worker, employed at Electric Boat for about 35 years.

Connors likes construction, but it's not something he wants to do forever.

The Ledyard resident said of EB, "I know it's somewhere I can start a career in, and stay and grow within the company."

He was one of 390 people to attend a job fair that EB held at the Westerly Education Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday. It was the second job fair the center held for EB, after a November event drew 400 hopefuls.

The company is looking to hire 14,000 people in Connecticut and Rhode Island over the next 10 years, according to human resources chief Brian Howard. Most of that will be to replace employees who are retiring or otherwise departing, with growth of about 4,000 positions.

EB is looking to hire 200 people to work in the trades in Groton by the end of 2018, and 500 — mostly in the trades — to work in Quonset by the end of March.

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