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Reggie Poché, Nunez Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Engagement, presents during SME’s Gulf Coast stakeholder kickoff meeting in January in the Student Testing and Career Counseling Center on the Nunez Community College campus.
Nunez Community College and SME, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, brought the local Maritime industry together in January to map out student pathways from education to industry.
Nunez Community College was one of only six colleges chosen by SME across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to develop and lead the Gulf Coast Maritime Workforce Imperative in response to projections showing 75,000 new shipbuilding and naval defense jobs coming online by 2028. Nunez and SME hosted the Gulf Coast kickoff meeting in the Student Testing and Career Counseling Center on the Nunez campus with a goal of connecting stakeholders from K-12 education, higher education, employers, industry organizations and community partners in order to begin formulating a plan for the region.
“The maritime industry is at the epicenter of Louisiana’s economic engine,” said Dr. Tina Tinney, Nunez Chancellor. “Nunez Community College is proud to be selected by SME to serve as the link between community partners and stakeholders. We intend to synthesize, create, and deliver maritime programs, skills, and certifications that provide people with real, relevant jobs that are needed today and will continue to be needed tomorrow.”
Nunez occupies a prime location in St. Bernard Parish to train students to work in local shipyards, and to maintain constant communication with employers and industry leaders to react quickly to their evolving needs. The college announced in August 2025 that it will begin offering a Certificate of Technical Studies in Maritime Operations, with concentrations available in Equipment and Transportation Operations, Maintenance and Utilities, and Safety and Logistics. Additional concentrations will be added in response to industry needs.
Reggie Poché, Nunez Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Engagement, provided an overview of the college’s maritime initiatives at the kickoff meeting before introducing the SME team for its presentation. Attendees introduced themselves and participated in brainstorming and problem-solving activities to spark discussions and foster connections. With transparency at the forefront, industry partners expressed critical needs that schools and colleges can address when preparing students for the workforce. In turn, school leaders expressed how industry leaders can engage in and support the school systems as well.
“Filling the maritime manufacturing workforce starts with the right people in the room,” said Cara Pattison, Program Manager for SME. “By bridging these conversations, they helped lay the groundwork for a maritime manufacturing workforce pipeline shaped by employers, aligned with local education partners, and rooted in community connection. That kind of connection is what turns partnerships into progress.”
In addition to the Nunez and SME teams, the kickoff meeting drew representatives from Venture Global, LED FastStart, GNO, Inc., Boeing, Vivace, LSU at New Orleans, the Crescent River Port Pilots Association, Port NOLA, St. Bernard Parish Government and the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ). K-12 partners in attendance included St. Bernard Parish Schools, New Orleans Public Schools, Jefferson Parish Schools, Plaquemines Parish Schools, St. Tammany Parish Schools and KIPP.
Plaquemines Parish Schools Superintendent Shelly Ritz was in attendance with several members of her team. Nunez and Plaquemines Schools recently selected a facility in Plaquemines to host a temporary workforce training site. Nunez plans to establish a permanent facility in Plaquemines in the future.
