Sixty percent of Snohomish County jobs are tied to trade, Port of Everett CEO Lisa Lefeber told a business panel on July 7.

That means the workers who keep that trade moving are retiring faster than the industry can replace them.

Lefeber, Maritime Institute CEO Dave Abrams, EASC President and CEO Ray Stephenson, and Naval Station Everett Capt. Stacy M. Withier spoke at an Economic Alliance Snohomish County Coffee Chat titled "Anchoring Regional Growth," exploring how the port and naval station together drive regional jobs, infrastructure investment, and workforce development.

The workforce cliff

Abrams described a "silver tsunami" bearing down on the maritime trades. The average age of workers in vessel operations and shipyard sectors is in the mid-50s, he said, and replacing them takes years.

"The workforce is aging and we can't just snap our fingers and create a journeyman electrician, or a master, or a chief engineer … it takes time," Abrams said.

He called on the industry to build a pipeline stretching from school district partnerships through port training facilities to employer hiring commitments.

Shared waterfront, shared supply chain

Stephenson, a former Everett mayor, framed the port and naval station as inseparable economic forces.

"Port of Everett and Naval Station Everett sit side-by-side on the same waterfront, and they drop off in the same workforce pipeline, the same infrastructure, and often the same supply chain," Stephenson said at the July 7 panel.

He noted that the Navy's cancellation of what he called the "conservation class program" rippled through the local economy as a jobs story, not just a defense policy decision. The EASC Military Affairs Committee, which Stephenson established in 2003, now helps local businesses track upcoming Navy contract bidding opportunities.

The numbers

The Port of Everett handles 100% of the oversized aerospace parts for Boeing's 767, 777, 777X, and KC-46 Tanker programs, supports nearly $21 billion in annual U.S. exports, and ranks as the second-largest export customs district in Washington, according to Port commercial strategy documents.

Its regional transportation network supports more than 40,000 jobs and generates $433 million in state and local tax revenue.

Over the past decade, the Port invested more than $150 million in seaport modernization through its Mills to Maritime initiative, Lefeber said. That included the $40 million Norton Terminal and $57 million South Terminal Modernization, both serving the aerospace cargo pipeline.

What's ahead

Lefeber listed the Port's next infrastructure priorities: building out Waterfront Place, the Millwright mixed-use district with more than 60,000 square feet of planned retail and 300-plus residential units, a new festival space, and a rebuilt boat launch. No construction timelines were announced at the panel.

The workforce pipeline remains the open question. Abrams said the industry is "beginning to wake up" but must act while experienced workers are still available to train their replacements.