GROTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Senator Chris Murphy got a crash course in building submarines while visiting workers at Electric Boat Monday.

He says he wanted a first hand look at the work they do there, and that he came away with a new respect for the focus on safety and quality. Murphy says it’s important to keep skilled workers in Connecticut when demand at Electric Boat falls.

“It takes 500 hours to train a new welder, so when you lose a handful of welders, it takes a long time to get somebody from the front door onto the ship,” he said.

The senator says he is going to take what he learned back to Washington to fight to keep jobs on the Connecticut shoreline.