Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) hosted groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Jackson County (Miss.) Maritime Trades Academy on June 8 with state and local officials participating. "The shipbuilding academy will help find new workers and upgrade the skills of current workers for our shipbuilders on the Coast and for our energy industry," said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. A $20m HUD community development block grant was awarded by the state of Mississippi in August 2009 to build the academy.