Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recently piloted a new leadership program for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) enterprise, serving as the exclusive testing ground for skilled trade employee development. After months of training, FRCE celebrated the graduation of the program's first cohort Sept. 2, paving the way for a new, one-year development program that is now being offered NAVAIR-wide.

As a key component of the NAVAIR Leader Development Continuum, the new Federal Wage System Leadership Development Program (FWSLDP) provides Federal Wage System employees with foundational leadership, communication and problem-solving skills. FRCE served as the proving ground for the program, making the command’s nine participants the first in the enterprise to complete the curriculum.

Ann Wood, who is performing the duties of Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, and FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy Berti presented the graduates with certificates of completion during the ceremony. Wood stated in her remarks that as the enterprise’s first leadership development program for Federal Wage System personnel, the FWSLDP bridges a critical gap in professional training for front-line artisans, improving the depot’s support of warfighter readiness.  

“These graduates have played such an important role in the genesis of the readiness that is generated here every day,” said Wood. “This program was a powerful step in their journeys to become the best leaders and teammates possible. Artisans have to be leaders, leading themselves and others. This training helped prepare them for the responsibilities and challenges ahead. It’s not the challenges that matter but how we overcome them, and that’s where these graduates can make a difference. The fleet always comes first, so drive your teams to outcomes that matter for the fleet and remove barriers quickly.”

During the six-month pilot program, the nine participants engaged in a comprehensive training curriculum with nine core competencies: communication, problem-solving, accountability, developing others, team building, conflict management, decisiveness, influencing and ethical behavior. Rather than relying on traditional classroom instruction, the program focuses on enhancing leadership capabilities through hands-on, interactive training scenarios and continued mentorship.

The initiative is driving enterprise-wide readiness through the continuous development of its industrial workforce, according to the depot’s lead training administrator Tonya Hill.

Samuel Hall, nondestructive inspection technician at FRCE and graduate of the FWSLDP pilot program, said this program gave him the confidence and knowledge to become a better leader and teammate.

“I gained the ability to analyze how people think and how I can best address people who are not only junior to me, but also at my level and senior to me,” said Hall. “I learned how to communicate my ideas and thoughts more effectively. It helped me understand how to collaborate as a team member and how to come together to develop something that not only can benefit FRC East, but also NAVAIR. It made me, hands down, a better leader.”