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Electric Boat HR leader Sean Coyne backs CTECS industry engagement as he seeks board seat
Summary
Sean Coyne, Electric Boat vice president of human resources, told legislators his industry experience and youth pipeline work would inform his service on the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System board; the committee moved his nomination forward.
Sean Coyne, nominated to a seat on the board of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS), testified to the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee on Jan. 30 that his work recruiting and training a high‑volume manufacturing workforce would inform his board service.
Coyne introduced himself as “vice president of human resources at Electric Boat since May of 2022,” and described employer programs that feed students into skilled‑trade positions, including the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative and a paid summer SHIP internship program for high‑school juniors. “In 2024 alone, over a thousand individuals went through the manufacturing pipeline programs and then started a trade job at Electric Boat,” he said.
Coyne said he has been on the CTECS board since late October and expects his role to emphasize employer engagement and the development of industry committees. He told senators and representatives that the board’s top priorities should be identifying and hiring permanent leadership — in particular a superintendent — and strengthening links between industry demand and program offerings.
Committee members asked Coyne how CTECS can expand its recruiting and outreach, including marketing to parents and earlier grades, and how the board can hold leadership accountable for student outcomes and program quality. Coyne said industry partnerships, high‑school signing days and outreach to guidance counselors are part of the solution, and he described his intent to use existing networks, including the Eastern Advanced Manufacturing Alliance and the Governor’s Workforce Council, to bring more employers and sectors (beyond manufacturing) to the board table.
Coyne described Electric Boat’s SHIP program as an 8‑week, paid, 40‑hour internship for high‑school juniors and said participation grew from about 20 students in his first year to about 50 last year. He also said Electric Boat hires large numbers of workers — “in the three years that I’ve been the EB Vice President of Human Resources, we’ve hired over 13,000 employees” — and that the company shares recruitment responsibilities with workforce boards and schools.
The committee voted to advance Coyne’s nomination. Several legislators asked that new board members focus on measurable outcomes such as credential attainment and increasing the number of trained graduates entering local trades and other sectors.
