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JULY 2026
my, teamed up with Haney Technical College to launch the 
Marine Electrician Apprenticeship Program, put a welding 
facility in a local high school, and developed the Eastern 
Shipbuilding Group Coastline Initiative which promotes 
welding and engineering skills for students through a com-
petition to design an artificial reef. “The greatest challenge 
that faces any shipbuilder in the U.S. is being able to recruit, 
retain, and train enough skilled workers,” Joey said. 
He saw firsthand how important workforce development 
was in the wake of Hurricane Michael. The category 5 storm 
hit Florida in 2018 as the third-most intense Atlantic hurri-
cane to make landfall in the continental U.S. in terms of 
pressure. Coming out of that storm, ESG faced significant 
challenges to continue attracting skilled laborers to an area 
that had been ravaged by a hurricane. It forced the company 
to “step up their game,” as Joey put it, and develop a more 
comprehensive, more focused approach to recruitment. 
This led to Eastern Shipbuilding creating their BUILD 
initiative which promotes workforce growth, recruitment, 
and retention through competitive wages and benefits, 
investments in training, and fostering a culture of collab-
oration. BUILD enabled ESG to double their workforce 
within only a few years after the hurricane.
The support for employees doesn’t end with recruitment, 
ESG also focuses on developing career frameworks to help 
employees discover growth opportunities within the com-
pany and to create the necessary path to reach their goals. 
Job openings are posted internally first to find interested 
and qualified candidates and support is offered for them 
to advance their careers. If Joey has a great employee, he 
wants to keep them. His interest is in keeping good employ-
ees even if they want to take on a different craft or work in 
a different area of the shipyard. “Recruiting is a huge part 
of what we do,” he said, “but if you’re not able to retain the 
people, then the challenge becomes much harder.”
ESG’s dedication to employees reaches beyond the ship-
yard, extending to family engagement. As a family-owned, 
family-run company, that level of involvement is important 
to them. They organize an annual picnic where the county 
allows them to take over much of a local park. At the end of 
the season, they rent out a water park for a day for employ-
ees and their families to come together and enjoy the rides. 
As the largest private employer in the region, ESG leverages 
their position to take care of not only the people within 
their company, but the people within their community. 
The company hosts a charity fishing tournament and a 
charity golf tournament. These events are not only for em-
ployees and their families but bring together vendors and 
suppliers from around the world and raise money for local 
and regional charities. 
In addition to the tournaments, ESG donates to Gulf 
Coast Children’s Advocacy Center and recently celebrat-
“When we make promises 
to our customers,  
we keep them,” Joey said.  
“The only way you can do 
that is by doing everything 
you can to make promises  
to your employees and 
their families.”
PHOTO: EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP

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