SHIPFITTER TRAINEE - 3 WEEK UNPAID TRAINING PROGRAM (7AM-3:30PM)

Huntington Ingalls•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 partners with the Virginia Ship Repair Association and local Virginia community colleges and maritime training facilities to offer Marine Trades Training course-to-hire programs for individuals interested in learning a trade and working full-time for Newport News Shipbuilding. The Shipfitter Trainee program is offered at Camp Community College in Suffolk, Virginia; Virginia Peninsula Community College in Hampton, Virginia; or Tidewater Community College in Portsmouth, Virginia. The training program is unpaid, lasts three weeks (120 hours), and runs Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 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, concrete and metal 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 small, confined spaces such as tanks, compartments, or ship voids. The work requires attention to safety and precision, adaptability, physical agility, and comfort working in challenging conditions. The role requires willingness to work any shift and overtime as needed.

Requirements

Must be able to pass a three-week unpaid training program totaling 120 hours, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Must be willing to undergo a background investigation and drug screen.
Must be able to kneel, squat, crawl, bend, stoop, and climb on a daily basis.
Must be able to lift at least 40 pounds.
Must be able to perform overhead work.
Must be able to work overtime as needed and any shift.
Must be able to be clean-shaven to wear a respirator.
Must be able to work outdoors year-round in all weather conditions.
Must be able to work at extreme heights and in small, tight, confined spaces.
Must 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 steel structures for aircraft carriers and submarines.
Measure, cut, grind, fit, align, and tack-weld components.
Construct ship interior components, including hatches, doors, and bulkheads.
Apply shipfitting skills in shops, concrete and metal structures, dry docks, and aboard ships in support of new construction, ship repair, and overhaul.