Northwest Oregon Works outlines $2 million maritime workforce effort for Clatsop and Lincoln counties

Lehi Tumbarello, maritime program coordinator for Northwest Oregon Works, briefed the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners during a work session about a year of activity in a new maritime workforce program and plans to form an industry‑led maritime sector partnership covering Clatsop and Lincoln counties.

Tumbarello said the program received an initial $2,000,000 appropriation that he allocated in the program’s first year and that the governor’s biennial budget includes $2,000,000 for the maritime program for 2025–27, pending final appropriation and allocation. “I’m the first ever maritime program coordinator, and I had $2,000,000 to invest in a year. I’m proud to say that I invested all $2,000,000,” he told the board.

The program’s stated goal is to build a talent‑pipeline value chain that links K–12 awareness and recruiting, internships and apprenticeships, community college credentialing, and shore‑side maritime employers. Tumbarello described early grants and purchases made with the initial funding, including support for Oregon State University Fisheries Extension commercial fishing‑vessel safety training, seafood butchery training at coastal high schools, equipment upgrades at Port of Astoria (forklift and power washer), and incentives to hire credentialed merchant mariners for NOAA salmon research assignments.

“[The partnership] will be business leader driven,” Tumbarello said of the NextGen‑facilitated sector partnership model he plans to use. He described a launch meeting format in which industry sits at the center table and education, workforce development and community partners listen and support. He said the launch will produce prioritized action teams led by industry and that the partnership would meet quarterly to report progress.

Board members praised the outreach and asked about program risks. Commissioner Thompson raised concerns about the stability of the Tongue Point Job Corps seamanship program and asked how the maritime program would respond if Job Corps services were disrupted. Tumbarello responded that he would “control what I can control” and use the sector partnership to develop workarounds if the Job Corps program closed.

Commissioner Webb noted an existing letter from Melissa Padgett supporting reinstatement of Job Corps funding and said the county should sign on to that support. Tumbarello and county staff said they are coordinating with community colleges and other partners to prepare for possible service gaps.

Tumbarello described other outreach and publicity the program has achieved, including media coverage and a recent podcast appearance with Joanne Rideout, and he said he is working door‑to‑door with employers such as Bergerson Construction and WCT Construction to recruit industry champions for the partnership. No formal board action or vote was taken; the item was presented for information and discussion.

Next steps reported to the board include finalizing a NextGen contract once budget allocations are confirmed and scheduling a launch meeting to identify top industry priorities and action‑team leads. Tumbarello said he will return with progress reports as the partnership and projects move into implementation.