This spring, DeVal Lifecycle Support participated in the Navy Talent Pipeline Program (TPP) Signing Day for the fourth consecutive year, joining employers, educators and workforce partners in recognizing individuals entering and growing within the defense industrial base.
The event celebrated new hires, employees reaching one-year milestones and the organizations helping connect people to long-term careers supporting the United States Department of Navy.
The active involvement of DeVal Lifecycle Support and Parts Life, Inc. in the U.S. Navy Talent Pipeline Program is central to both companies’ commitment to strengthening the defense industrial base through intentional investment in people, training, culture and long-term workforce development.
As providers of engineering, manufacturing, and lifecycle sustainment solutions supporting critical defense systems, both sister companies understand that mission readiness depends on having a skilled and stable workforce capable of supporting customers over the long term.
DeVal was recognized during this year’s Signing Day event for participating in its fourth consecutive cohort within the NTP Program.
Since joining the program in July 2023, DeVal has onboarded 59 employees, with 45 employees remaining active today. The company currently maintains a 76.3% overall retention rate and a 79% retention rate among employees eligible for one-year retention measurement.
For the company, these results represent an ongoing investment in onboarding, mentorship, employee engagement and workforce development practices designed to strengthen both the organization and its ability to support customers effectively.
“Through the years we’ve been involved in the NTP Program, our retention rate of those people has been just about 90 percent, so a notable improvement,” said David Carosiello, VP of Strategic Partnerships for Parts Life Inc. and DeVal Lifecycle Support.
This year’s event also celebrated DeVal hires and one-year employees connected to workforce and educational partners including Ben Franklin High School, Pennsauken High School, Philadelphia Technician Training Institute, the Community College of Philadelphia, Drexel University, and Father Judge High School.
Pam Laughner, DeVal’s TPP Network Coach, also continues to support the company’s workforce development efforts through the program.
At the center of Signing Day were employees whose careers exemplify the impact of long-term workforce investment.
Among them was Kayla Akinset, who represented Philadelphia Network 2 and shared her journey leading to DeVal and her experience within the company. Kayla was also recognized as Teammate of the Day during the event.
Stories like Kayla’s highlight what workforce development looks like in practice: creating opportunities for people to grow into meaningful careers while helping strengthen the organizations supporting America’s defense readiness.
These investments directly support the companies’ ability to deliver high-quality sustainment, manufacturing, and lifecycle support solutions to customers across the defense industrial base.
As workforce demands across the defense sector continue to grow, the importance of building and retaining skilled teams has become increasingly critical to long-term readiness and sustainment operations.
For DeVal and Parts Life, workforce development is closely tied to the broader mission of supporting the Warfighter and strengthening the industrial base that makes military readiness possible.
“That program helps ensure that we are all working toward this common cause which is to make sure that we have a strong industrial base, because without that base we wouldn’t be able to win the fight,” said Sam Thevanayagam, Founder and CEO of Parts Life, Inc. and DeVal Lifecycle Support.
The companies’ continued participation in the NTP Program reflects a long-term commitment not only to workforce growth, but to building the operational strength, continuity, and capability customers depend on every day.
As the U.S. Navy Talent Pipeline Program expands nationally, Signing Day highlights the people building careers in manufacturing, engineering and sustainment. Their skills support the equipment, supply chains and industrial capacity required for long-term defense readiness.
DeVal Lifecycle Support and Parts Life, Inc. will continue investing in training, mentorship and career development to build the stable, capable workforce their customers and the mission depend on.
About DeVal Lifecycle Support
DeVal Lifecycle Support, a Parts Life, Inc. Company, is a full service build to print mechanical manufacturer of armament and ground support equipment, sub-assemblies, and major parts and components for military systems and sub-systems for over 70 years. As a small business certified HUBZone contractor for the Department of Defense, DeVal LCS is a full-service original equipment manufacturer with extensive high precision machining capabilities used to support our prime and government customers. Products include munitions trailers adapters & add-ons, drawbars, cargo loaders, weapon transport adapters, bomb hoist, dollies, self-propelled weapons loaders, testing and tool sets, and more. Our electronic, electric, and electrical manufacturing capabilities include wiring harnesses and electronic test sets. DeVal operates under regimented performance guidelines constituted by ISO9001:2015 and AS9100D Certified Quality Management Systems Programs.
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