1

• 125 year history designing, building, overhauling and repairing ships for the Navy, the Coast Guard and commercial trade

• Sole supplier of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, the world’s largest and most complex warships

• One of only two builders constructing the Virginia-class nuclear submarines

• Exclusive provider of refueling services for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers

• Largest non-government provider of fleet maintenance services to the Navy

• Immense capability

• 550 acres on the James River at Hampton Roads

• Largest industrial employer in Virginia—more than 20,000 employees

• Large “order book” and work backlog

Newport News Shipbuilding

2

We are Shipbuilders

• Our People are the reason for our Success

• Over 500 Master Shipbuilders (40 years or more)

• All varieties of careers are available in the Shipbuilding business

Engineers Business Management

Electricians Welders

Pipefitters Facilities

• We our part of a proud legacy of building “always good ships” and recognizing that our products protect the nation and safely sustain the men and women who serve on them.

Never send an American into a fair fight!

The workforce is changing

• The workforce is aging– National demographic / local impact

– Retiring workers will leave significant gaps in knowledge, skills, and experienced craftsmanship

• Workforce training is costly – >$8000 / employee in the first year alone

• Most workers we hire need additional training– Workforce ready Shipbuilder ready

– Craft work requires high level skill sets

– Technology is constantly evolving

• Newport News Shipbuilding will hire over 4,000 new employees in the next three years

3

The technology we’ll use every day 8 years from now, hasn’t been invented yet.

Meeting the challenge

• Job postings – Shipbuilder ready – the real truth – Candidate must be proficient in Math/Algebra/Physics: understand summation of

moments to determine center of gravity for crane lifts

– Candidate should also be able to use trigonometry: evaluate potential lift load and determine proper sling angle. The length of the sling or distance between lift points is calculated to determine the sling angle.

– Candidate should be able to use geometry to calculate load weight

• Valid planning– Multiple pathways to advance shipbuilding as a career choice – Career Pathways

– Education collaborates to prepare curricula to meet knowledge and skill gaps

• Continuing Education– Meet changing technology requirements – retooling – primarily STEM subject

matter

– Support advancing leadership within organizations

4

Worksite Opportunities A Worksite Opportunity

(WSO) is a way to expose students, at varying

educational stages, to the world of work as well as

provide them the opportunity to explore potential career

opportunities within the visited business.

Speakers Bureau Informed professionals

volunteer in the Newport News schools to give

engaging presentations to students of all grade levels.  The goal is to

expose students to a wide range of career

possibilities.

Newport News Shipbuilding a Career Pathways Business Partner

Job Shadowing Job shadowing helps

students explore a range of career objectives and select majors for high

school. A student follows an employee for one or

more days to learn about a particular occupation or

industry.

Huntington Middle School Partnership

NNS partners with Huntington Middle School

for year-round participation in community events hosted by the school

including the Apprentice School Career Readiness

Team, tutoring, club activities, career fairs, and

more.

Club Activities

Club/Activity volunteers from NNS meet with students for

fun, problem-solving activities to provide exposure to the different careers available

within Newport News Shipbuilding and also to

develop Career Readiness skills.

Internships

Newport News Shipbuilding provides internship

opportunities to students and teachers that will

transfer classroom knowledge to real life work

experiences at NNS.

Business / Education Partnership in Practice

Working with the Public Schools

• Connecting with students – Visit classrooms/meet with students

• E.g. Elementary School Spanish class / Gamesa partnership

– Mentor students/career cafes – provide learning opportunities

• E.g. Lead boat building and egg drop competitions to illustrate applied scientific principles in a fun environment

– Provide internship / job shadow / job site opportunities

• Engineer for a day…shadow design engineers at work and in conversation with customers

• Professional development for teachers– Summer Teacher Internship program

• Teachers work at the Yard within Yard Operations Overview program

• Learn how academic subjects are applied; develop curriculum components for their classes that are shared among teachers

Business / Education Partnership in Practice

Working with the Community Colleges – scalable and profitable

• Customized pre-employment training– The Welder pilot with Thomas Nelson Community College

• student is selected for participation by TNCC

• trains at TNCC using NNS requirements, techniques

• successful student is hired as a regular full time employee

– As compared to an “off the street” hire

• CC completers take 40% less time to certify (10 - 12 weeks to 6 – 8 weeks)

– Associated labor cost and training material costs savings

• CC completers know what to expect – they stay on the job

– Attrition reduced 45%

– Training (certification) program “wash out” rate reduced to <10%

• Implemented programs for welders, marine electricians, and blast & coat workers

– Results and ROI remains high

Joint Business / Education Partnerships Work

• Participate in joint pipelines/pathways

• Visit classrooms/meet with students

• Mentor students/career cafes

• Provide co-op or internship opportunities – paid / unpaid

• Establish apprenticeships

• Participate in career fairs

• Customize and pay for pre-hire training

• Sponsor scholarships

• Participate in joint professional development

• Provide subject matter experts to guide faculty development

• Verify national models/certifications meet your employment requirements

• Serve on curriculum committees, advisory boards

Get off of the sidelines and get in the game – do what you can do