Announces Plans At Kratos Facility In Oklahoma City

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) plans to introduce legislation to promote workforce development when the Senate returns in September. He was joined for an announcement of the legislation last week by local community and business leaders to speak to the need of enhancing workforce development in Oklahoma.

“The one downside to a strong economy is that businesses are having trouble finding skilled workers,” Inhofe said. “We need to do more to encourage and make it possible for young people to choose high-paying, skilled careers. My legislation will open up opportunities for students and economic growth, while also encouraging businesses to invest in workforce development.”

“Over the next three to five years Kratos expects to hire over 500 people in Oklahoma to build state of the art jet drones which will fly alongside our DOD fighter forces, protecting our homeland and the lives of our pilots,” said Ben Goodwin, Senior Vice President of Kratos Defense and Security. “To accomplish this mission, we will need highly educated engineers and technicians to support our manufacturing efforts, and Senator Inhofe’s bill creates incredible opportunities for young men and women and highlights the value of these kinds of jobs and career and technical education.”

“We know that in the military you recruit the service member but you retain the family,” said Jill Castilla, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army. “What we are seeing across all the services is that the high unemployment rate for military spouses is impacting our retention efforts. Sen. Inhofe’s legislation will take real steps to support military families by helping military spouses transfer their licenses when relocating and access educational benefits.”  

“There is a serious shortage of young men and women with the skills-based knowledge to build the next generation of our state’s infrastructure,” said Jim Duit, president of Duit Construction. “Sen. Inhofe’s legislation takes a big step forward to enabling students to choose the best educational opportunity for them—including high-paying, skilled technical jobs.”

(Image provided with Sen. Inhofe news release)

FMI: www.inhofe.senate.gov