Boeing hired more than 8,500 new employees in Washington state in 2018, extending its status as the largest private employer in the state. Boeing’s Washington state employees make up nearly half of the company’s global workforce.

Boeing’s workforce in Puget Sound is supporting higher rates of commercial airplane production at its main manufacturing sites in Everett, Renton, Auburn and Frederickson. The new and existing employees helped Boeing – the world’s largest airplane manufacturer – set an industry record of 806 commercial airplane deliveries last year.

To prepare employees for advanced manufacturing techniques, with an eye towards training the next generation of local aerospace workers, Boeing last year opened a 71,000 sq. foot Workforce Readiness Center in Auburn.

Gada Ahmed is one of the new Washington employees hired in 2018. “I like my job at Boeing because I get to use my hands and at the same time use my troubleshooting skills to figure things out and put things together,” Ahmed says, adding that he is already taking advantage of Boeing’s training and education benefits. “Boeing pays for my school to take not only classes that go toward aviation but also classes that build who I am to develop different skill sets in different parts of the aviation industry.”

New employee Daw Thongdy, who works in Everett, agrees. “I know there’s always a chance to evolve and I feel like Boeing’s going the right direction for it,” she said.

Beyond the tens of thousands of people Boeing employs, the company’s presence is also felt throughout the community with Boeing, its employees and retirees giving approximately $50M to Washington community organizations each year.

By Deborah Feldman and Davis Wahlman

New employees get introduced to Boeing and the work they’ll be doing at the Auburn, Wash., site during orientation at the Workforce Readiness Center.

Tim Healy