Mililani Engineer Looking For Top Talent At Pearl Harbor

Del.icio.us

Chief engineer Brian Yim (right) shows engineering professor Ronald Knapp how a propeller shaft connector is refurbished at the Inside Machining Shop at Pearl Harbor Shipyard. Knapp heads the mechanical engineering department at UH-Manoa.

As chief engineer for Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Mililani resident Brian Yim sometimes doubles as a tour guide, and the route he leads visitors on is far from routine.

A June 20 visit by University of Hawaii engineering professors found Yim’s guests at the top of a 123-foot portal crane and then 43 feet below sea level on the dry-dock floor.

“This visit represented a continuing effort by the shipyard to reach out and partner with the university in developing highly qualified engineers and technicians for employment,” explained Yim, who currently has 47 vacancies to fill.

The tour was a planned step to fine-tune the UH curriculum to meet the needs of the shipyard, which eyes the engineering school as an essential and highly coveted pool of talent.

Together, Yim and his nuclear engineer colleague, James Kenny, manage two departments that employ most of the nearly 800 engineers in the shipyard’s 4,100-person civilian work force. And they’re looking for a few good men and women.

By the year 2010, Yim said, about one-third of his engineers will be eligible for retirement.

Starting salary, by the way, is around $51,600. “It’s not unusual for an engineer after three years to make six figures, including overtime,” he added.

“It was really important for us to see the environment for ourselves,” said Peter Crouch, dean of the College of Engineering at UH-Manoa. “And, speaking personally, it will leave a lasting impression. There are all sorts of reasons why it is important for the college to be better connected to the shipyard.”

The full-service naval shipyard has an operating budget of $505 million and is the regional maintenance center for the U.S. Navy’s surface ships and subs.