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October 22, 2025

New training hubs at Brunswick Landing to boost Maine's aerospace and shipbuilding workforce

A sign is in front of a building. Photo / Courtesy Maine Maritime Academy The Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center, a 50,000-square-foot facility in the former Wayfair building, is at 46 Burbank Ave. at Brunswick Landing.
By Laurie Schreiber

Two new workforce training and testing facilities at the Brunswick Landing industrial park aim to fast-track skilled labor and research and development for Maine's shipbuilding, aerospace and defense industries.

The Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center is part of the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine. The SpaceTech facility is part of the Maine Space Corp., established in 2022 to be an economic development tool for Maine’s space-related ventures.

Accelerating innovation 

The new centers are positioned as a cross-sector collaboration to build talent pipelines for Bath Iron Works and other defense sector employers, accelerate Maine’s presence in maritime and space innovation and become a hub for students, entrepreneurs, engineers and researchers, according to a news release.

A room has equipment in it.
Photo / Courtesy Maine Space Corp.
The SpaceTech facility, part of the Maine Space Corp., has testing equipment designed to simulate the extreme conditions of launch, transport and operational environments.

Maritime and aerospace represent two sectors in the defense industrial base, said Craig Johnson, Maine Maritime Academy’s president. 

The Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center, Johnson said, will serve industry and academia to train hundreds of tradespeople yearly.

“The activities at Brunswick Landing are a model for how education, industry and innovation can come together to drive economic transformation,” said Terry Shehata, executive director of the Maine Space Corp. 

The facilities’ co-location and cross-sector collaboration are considered important as national conversations continued around supply chain resilience, workforce shortages and defense modernization. 

Maritime apprenticeships

The Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center is a 50,000-square-foot facility formerly occupied by Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W), a home furnishings retailer.

The front of a building has a bike leaning up against it.
The Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center will provide various apprenticeship programs.
Photo / Courtesy Maine Maritime Academy

Offerings include a paid apprenticeship program co-led by Bath Iron Works and the academy, pre-apprenticeship and executive training programs, computer-assisted design and technical design access for local schools and conference space and training facilities available to employers statewide. More programs are in development to support training in pipefitting, shipfitting, sheet metal and more.

Aerospace space

The 1,300-square-foot SpaceTech facility includes a lab and collaboration hub supporting aerospace and adjacent sectors.

Capabilities include qualification of electronics, hardware and other innovations for space applications; prototyping and advanced materials research; reliability testing for consumer and industrial products; and academic research and STEM education initiatives.

For testing, the facility is designed to simulate the extreme conditions of launch, transport and operational environments. An electrodynamic vibration shaker replicates the intense vibration profiles during rocket launches and transportation and has other business applications such as car suppliers testing components for road vibrations.

Machines sit side-by-side.
Photo / Courtesy Maine Space Corp.
An electrodynamic vibration shaker replicates the intense vibration profiles during rocket launches and transportation and has other business applications such as automotive.

A shock testing machine simulates high-impact shock events such as rocket stage separation, with additional applications such as medical device companies, ensuring the reliability of sensitive instruments.

A testing and humidity chamber simulates extreme environmental conditions to test durability. Other applications include renewable energy companies testing solar panels, batteries, or storage systems; and marine and outdoor gear manufacturers validating performance in harsh weather. The facility has specialized electrostatic discharge-protected workbenches that prevent the buildup and sudden release of static electricity, which can damage delicate instruments.

'Putting Maine on the map'

An open house is scheduled for this Friday as part of Manufacturing Month activities organized throughout October by the Manufacturers Association of Maine Manufacturing Month.

“This event celebrates more than buildings,” said John Lewis, the group's executive director. “These facilities represent a commitment to training talent, growing industry and putting Maine on the map as a leader in national defense and space innovation.”

Open house details 

Friday's open house schedule is as follows:

8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center, 46 Burbank Ave.

10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., SpaceTech facility, 112 Orion St.

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