News
Sikorsky in state searching for a few good engineers
Saying there is a shortage of qualified engineers in Connecticut, Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft is scouring other states, including Montana, for several sites to create up to 400 new engineering jobs.
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press Writer
Coming just six months after the Pentagon canceled the Comanche helicopter program and the company laid off about 175 workers, Sikorsky plans to create two or three engineering design centers near colleges that could provide a pool of young professionals. The new jobs would not shift any employment from Connecticut, said Sikorsky spokesman Bud Grebey.
Many of the jobs will be contingent on the company winning major helicopter contracts in the future, he said.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said that while she is "disappointed by this latest development, I expect that Sikorsky will continue to work to keep good engineering jobs in the state."
Company officials are visiting prospective locations, including Montana — the home of engineering programs at Montana State University-Bozeman and Montana Tech in Butte.
"The number of engineering graduates continues to decline every year," said Grebey. "We need to go where we can attract young professional engineers without having to relocate them over great distances."
He said Sikorsky is hoping to attract students who may not want to move to Connecticut.
"It’s a quality of life issue," he said.
According to Peter Gioia, economist for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the dearth of engineers is a common complaint among Connecticut companies.
Preliminary results of a new CBIA survey, he said, indicate that engineering jobs are "going to be in moderately high demand going out to 2010, and two out of three manufacturing companies in Connecticut are having at least some difficulty finding engineers."
He said about 65 percent of 600 companies surveyed by CBIA are manufacturers.
Grebey said the job expansion is not tied to any particular aircraft program and is not part of an effort to broaden Sikorsky’s political base to help secure the contract to build the new presidential helicopter fleet.
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., met with Sikorsky vice president for engineering Mark Miller, to discuss the program and has been actively touting Montana as "a perfect fit" for the expansion.
Grebey would not reveal the dozen sites under consideration, but said a decision is expected next month.
And while the facilities would probably host about 50 jobs each early on, they could be expanded to have as many as 400 total as more contracts come in.
Sikorsky is in a fierce competition with a Lockheed Martin-led consortium to supply helicopters for the Marine One presidential squadron. A decision is expected after the November presidential election, and the winner is likely to have an edge when the Pentagon looks to replace hundreds of aircraft in coming years.
Currently Sikorsky employs about 8,900 workers, including 7,000 in Connecticut. After the Pentagon canceled the lucrative $39 billion contract for development of the Comanche helicopter in February, the company laid off 175 workers and redeployed more than 400 others.
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