The Gulf Coast shipbuilding industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, creating rising demand for skilled professionals who can manage the complex logistics and lifecycle management requirements of modern naval vessels. To help meet that demand, CHAND, LLC has partnered with Mississippi State University to develop a first-of-its-kind Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) Boot Camp focused on Provisioning and Configuration Management.
Supported through workforce development funding from the State of Mississippi’s Office of Workforce Development – AccelerateMS, the initiative is designed to create new career pathways while strengthening the long-term workforce pipeline that supports shipyards across the Gulf Coast.
“This partnership demonstrates how employers, higher education, and workforce development leaders can work together to create the right training opportunities for today’s economy,” said Dr. Courtney Taylor, Executive Director of Accelerate MS. “By developing curriculum around real-world workforce demands, this program will help participants gain specialized skills that are immediately applicable in the workplace while strengthening the talent pipeline for Mississippi’s growing maritime industry.”
ILS is a critical discipline in government shipbuilding, ensuring ships, systems, and equipment can be effectively operated, maintained, and sustained throughout their lifecycle. Despite the importance of the field, industry leaders identified a major gap in formal training opportunities focused specifically on provisioning and configuration status accounting within naval shipbuilding programs.
“The complexities of Integrated Logistics Support are not captured in one concise training course,” said Cindie Roussel, Executive Vice President of CHAND, LLC. “We partnered with Mississippi State University to transpose decades of knowledge, military standards, common contract requirements, and undocumented government expectations into a structured training program that our growing industry needs.”
Beginning in August 2026, CHAND will launch its inaugural four-week paid ILS Boot Camp for recent high school graduates and others seeking an alternative pathway into the maritime industry. The program will cover the twelve elements of ILS, contracts, provisioning, and configuration management, while introducing students to real-world shipbuilding processes and government program requirements.
Mississippi State University faculty, staff, and engineering students worked closely with CHAND subject matter experts to build the curriculum, student guides, and instructor training materials. “This project is about upskilling people for real-world roles,” said Tonya McCall, Director of MSU’s CAVS Extension. “Having students involved was critical because their perspective closely aligns with many employees entering the industry.”
The curriculum also includes a train-the-trainer component, so CHAND can sustain and expand the program internally as workforce demands continue to grow.
While CHAND operates under the Bollinger Shipyards umbrella, the Boot Camp was intentionally designed to benefit the broader Gulf Coast industrial base — including shipyards that are often considered competitors. “We have several ships currently being constructed across the Gulf Coast that generate increasing demand for logistics analysts and support personnel,” Roussel said. “This training will open doors to rewarding career opportunities while building the essential skills needed to strengthen mission readiness and crew preparedness for these vessels.”