Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School holds commencement

The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding held its commencement Feb. 4, graduating 161 apprentices representing 26 trades.

The top three trades chosen by the 2011 class of graduates were marine designers, pipe fitters and electricians.

The graduates have journey-level status that positions them for jobs at shipyards nationwide.

“Statistically, the numbers suggest that 10 years after graduation, better than 80 percent of our graduates remain at Newport News Shipbuilding,” said Everett Jordan, director of the school, and a graduate himself.

The quality of the applicant pool has risen in recent years, he said. Last year, there were 4,500 applicants, and 243 were selected as apprentices.

“Better than 50 percent of the students are coming in with some college,” Jordan said.

Of the 765 apprentices now enrolled, about 55 already have bachelor’s degrees.

The school offers four- and five-year apprentice programs to students interested in shipbuilding careers.

Since its founding in 1919, it has produced 9,496 graduates, not including Saturday’s class.

Roughly 2,400 alumni are in the management ranks at the Newport News shipyard.

– Robert McCabe

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