NEWPORT NEWS, Va., May 10, 2024 – HII’s (NYSE: HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division is welcoming more than three dozen graduating high school seniors to careers in shipbuilding. The shipyard held a signing day at The Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School Wednesday and participated in the New Horizons Regional Education Centers (NHREC) Good Life Solution Program’s Career Selection Day on Thursday.
A total of 38 students accepted employment offers from NNS: 15 who will begin full-time trade positions within the shipyard and 23 who will attend The Apprentice School. Funded by HII to train and develop the next generation of shipbuilders, The Apprentice School offers four- to eight-year, tuition-free apprenticeships in 19 trades and eight optional advanced programs, to include accredited undergraduate degrees in engineering.
Wednesday’s event, in partnership with the Department of Labor in celebration of National Youth Apprenticeship Week (YAW), recognized students who have completed one of several workforce development programs at The Apprentice School: the Pre-Apprenticeship Program, Youth Builders, Good Life Solutions, and Apprentice Accelerated (APX).
The Thursday event recognized additional students in The Good Life Solution Program, which is a collection of partnerships between NHREC and local employers looking to improve the way they recruit, hire, train and retain entry-level new hires out of high school. The program has a one-year retention rate of 80%.
“It is an exciting time to embark on a career in shipbuilding,” said Xavier Beale, NNS vice president of human resources. “These students will not only build the highest-quality aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy, they are also building a meaningful career. We are thrilled to have them join our ranks in a calling to serve our nation as only shipbuilders can.”
NNS plans to hire approximately 3,000 skilled trade positions this year to meet the shipbuilding needs of the U.S. Navy. The shipyard anticipates hiring nearly 19,000 trades people within the next decade.
