Shipfitter Trainee - 3 Week Unpaid Training Program (7Am-3:30Pm)

Ingalls Shipbuilding•Newport News, VA

1d•$59,675 - $62,067•Onsite

About The Position

This position is for job seekers with no trades experience who are willing to complete a three-week, unpaid Shipfitting training program. Newport News Shipbuilding, in partnership with the Virginia Ship Repair Association and local Virginia community colleges and maritime training facilities, offers Marine Trades Training (MTT) programs for people interested in learning a trade and working full-time for Newport News Shipbuilding. The program is 120 hours, runs Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and is offered at Camp Community College in Suffolk, Virginia; Virginia Peninsula Community College in Hampton, Virginia; or Tidewater Community College in Portsmouth, Virginia. Courses are offered monthly, with 6–15 students per class. Shipfitters interpret blueprints and plans to fabricate and assemble steel structures for aircraft carriers and submarines. They use tools to measure, cut, grind, fit, align, and tack-weld components, from small parts to large subassemblies and super lifts. They also construct interior components such as hatches, doors, and bulkheads. At Newport News Shipbuilding, shipfitters train and qualify at the shipyard’s welding school and apply their skills in shops, structures, dry docks, and aboard ships supporting new construction, ship repair, and overhaul. Work may take place in varying weather conditions, at extreme heights on scaffolding, ladders, or elevated platforms, and in confined spaces such as tanks, compartments, or ship voids. The work requires a strong focus on safety, precision, and adaptability, along with physical agility and comfort working in challenging conditions. The trainee must be willing to work any shift and overtime as needed. Full-time employment is the stated goal following the course-to-hire training program.

Requirements

Complete and pass the three-week, unpaid training program (120 hours), Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Be willing to undergo a background investigation and drug screen.
Be able to kneel, squat, crawl, bend, stoop, and climb daily.
Be able to lift at least 40 pounds.
Be able to perform overhead work.
Be able to work overtime as needed and any shift.
Be able to be clean-shaven to wear a respirator.
Be able to work outdoors year-round in all weather conditions.
Be able to work at extreme heights and in small, tight, confined spaces.
Be able to take measurements or be willing to learn.
U.S. citizenship is required for this position.

Nice To Haves

High school graduate or equivalent preferred.

Responsibilities

Interpret blueprints and plans to fabricate and assemble ship steel structures.
Measure, cut, grind, fit, align, and tack-weld components.
Construct external steel structures and interior components, including hatches, doors, and bulkheads.
Apply shipfitting skills in shops, structures, dry docks, and aboard ships in support of new construction, ship repair, and overhaul.
Complete shipyard training and qualification at the welding school.