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Careers - Apprentice Program

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard Apprentice Program will be accepting applications for the next apprentice class between October 17 and December 16.  Information sessions will be held Mondays at 4 pm and Wednesdays at 2 pm at the Tidewater Community College Portsmouth Campus. For more information click here.

How to Apply

FAQs

Drydock work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Apprentice program is a four-year Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) which is designed to attract students to the federal public service. Students are taken through a vigorous training program combining academics, trade theory and on-the-job experience to become skilled journeymen. 

The apprentice program provides students with academic training required for their trade. The training will result in a “Certificate of Completion”.   All academics for the certificate program will be given during working hours the first year of the program.  In the last three years of the program students will be given on-the-job learning and trade theory courses.  Participants take college level courses taught by Tidewater Community College (TCC) at the TCC Campus.  Students will be required to provide their own transportation while taking classes at the TCC Campus.  Compressed sessions will consist of 2 ten week sessions.  The apprentice earns a competitive wage while advancing to the journeymen level following a planned progressive training program  All academic tuition and book cost are paid by the Shipyard provided the student receives a grade of  “C” or better in the course work pursued. Apprentices are employed at the pay rate of WG-1 and receive promotions upon successful completion of program requirements. Upon graduation, apprentices converted to the journeyman level of their trade, which in most cases will be WG-10.

Other benefits include: paid sick leave and annual leave, 10 paid Federal holidays a year, Health and Life Insurance and a Retirement Plan.

All perspective candidates must:

  • Have graduated with a High School diploma or GED equivalent
  • Complete the placement testing program given by TCC.
  • Be a United States citizen.
  • Be able to meet security and medical requirements.

Opening of the Apprentice Program for acceptance of applications (an online resume) occurs annually, usually at the beginning of October.  The job announcement, when open, for this program can be found at the following website: 

https://chart.donhr.navy.mil/

For more information, contact:

Call 757/396-4777, 757/396-3788 and/or 757/398-7128 or Email us

Salary Rates for Federal Wage System Employees
Wage Schedule


Frequently Asked Questions
Click on a question to view its answer.

Q: What trades are offered for the apprentice program?

Students are selected for various blue-collar trades listed below.

Boilermaker: Fabricates, assembles, installs, repairs, and test boilers and boiler components. Work performed will be both in the shop and aboard ships from blueprints, sketches, specifications, layout templates and process instructions.

Electrician: Fabricates, installs, modifies, and repairs shipboard electrical systems, controls, instrumentation and rewind motors.

Electronics Mechanic: Installs, modifies, fabricates and repairs electrical/electronic systems, controls and instrumentation.  Uses blueprints, technical manuals and test procedures in accordance with specified guidelines.  Works on  complex systems such navigation systems, fire control systems, radar and sonar equipment and satellite communications systems.

Fabric Worker: Fabricate, repair, and install fabric articles such as awnings, sails, boat canopies, weather and protective cloths, fenders, bumpers, various types of covers, and other ship and boat materials.

Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic: Determines cause of mechanical operation problem, trace and locate defects, and make repairs to diesel, gasoline, and other types of internal combustion engines; automatic and non-automatic transmissions; heavy duty drive line systems; and hydraulic utility systems and controls.

Insulator:  Work involves insulating surfaces of pipes, ducts, valves, fittings, flanges, boilers, tanks, turbines, evaporators, refrigerating units, and similar structures.

Machinist: Manufacture and repair parts and items of equipment which require the use of various types of standard and special machine tools and their attachments to machine metals, metal alloys, and other materials.

Marine Machinery Mechanic: Dismantle, repair, relocate, modify, maintain, align, overhaul and install a wide variety of marine machinery, equipment and systems such as propulsion machinery, lifeboat davits, anchor handling gear, and missile tube equipment located aboard submarines, ships and other floating   craft.

Metals Inspector: Conducting nondestructive testing in the fields of visual, eddy current, liquid penetrant, magnetic particle, radiography, and ultrasonic inspections, ensuring a quality products.

Painter: Performs various types of preparations and applications to ships' surfaces and equipment; apply paint and other protective coatings. This work is accomplished using solvents, acids, detergents, power and hand tools and electronic controlled automatic plate blasting equipment.

Pipefitter:  Installs, maintains, and fabricates various piping systems and equipment necessary to carry out the overhaul and repair of naval vessels and to support shipboard hotel services and engineering systems. The piping systems include water (salt and fresh), steam (high and low pressure), compressed air, fuel, and sanitation systems.

Rigger: Use chainfalls, blocks and tackles, winches, cranes, and other mechanical devices to safely move items, ranging from a few pounds to those weighing several hundred tons, usually from or to areas within ships or submarines.

Sheet Metal Mechanic: Constructs and installs metal products to include ventilation, furniture (desks, tables, bunks, lockers, cabinets, bins, etc), bulkheads, ladders, handrails, and equipment foundations, Interprets blueprints, develops patters, and use computer programs designed to develop sketches.

Shipfitter:  Develops, lays out, bolts, assembles and erects ferrous, nonferrous metals and plastic plate.  Manufactures and installs interior and exterior items on vessels such as bulwarks, catapult structures, doors, foundations, hatches, railings and tanks.  Prepares surfaces for welding, burning or riveting.

Shipwright: Builds and lays out keel and bilge blocks as supporting cradles for dry- docking submarines and surface ships. Installs and repairs wood bulkheads, doors, sash, paneling, ladders, super-structure decks and gratings, wooden decks and panels of wood substitutes.

Welder: Involves welding metals and alloys. Uses Electric, gas, and other welding processes such as electron Beam welding, and the skill to apply these processes in manufacturing, repairing, modifying, rebuilding, and assembling various types of metal and alloy parts, equipment, systems and structures such as buildings, aircraft and ships.

Q: How do I apply for Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Apprenticeship Program?

·     Complete admissions application for Tidewater Community College (TCC), either online or at college. 

 

·     Take college placement test at any of the four TCC campuses.  There is a $4.00 fee for this test.

Q: How do I apply for Apprentice announcement through the Internet?

Applicants must apply online through USAJOBS.  Locate the announcement by using the "Search for Jobs" feature on the USAJOBS website: https://www.usajobs.opm.gov.

When the search page comes up, type in "apprentice" in the Key Word Title block and click on the search button to locate the announcement.

Open the announcement by clicking on the announcement number.  Once you open the announcement, locate and read the "How to Apply" paragraph.  To apply for this announcement on-line, you must login into https://applicationmanager.gov to build your account.  You will need to use the Vacancy Identification Number (VIN) number which will be identified when the job announcement opens.
 

Your resume must be in a Word or WordPerfect format.  If you created your resume in USAJOBS, you will need to copy it to one of these software programs so it can be downloaded to Application Manager.  A confirmation email will be generated and sent to the email address you provided.

Q: When will these online applications be accepted?

The job announcement for the 2011 Apprentice hire has closed. Please check back on our website in the October 2011 timeframe for when we will accept resumes for the 2012 Apprentice hire.

Q: How do I enroll (apply for admission) into Tidewater Community College?

Visit any campus Admissions Office for assistance or apply online at http://www.tcc.edu/students/admissions/online.htm.

·         Determine eligibility for admission.

·         Obtain and complete a TCC Admissions Application either online or from any TCC location.

·         The application may be submitted in person, by mail, or online at www.tcc.edu.  To expedite the admissions process, you are encouraged to apply online

·         Take TCC’s Placement Test

Q: How can I determine if I submitted my resume correctly in Application Manager?

Login to your Application Manager account. Click on the job announcement you applied for and make sure it says COMPLETE.

Q: What if I forgot my Application Manager username and/or password?

On the login screen there is a link “forgot user name or password”. Click on the link and it will prompt you to submit your email address. Follow the directions and you should be able to obtain your username and/or password.

NOTE: The Human Resources Office (HRO) does not have access to your account, therefore, it is imperative that you keep this information for future use.

Q: Who needs to take the placement/assessment test?

Each individual applying for NNSY’s apprentice program must have taken the TCC placement test within the past year as of 10/4/2009.

 

NOTE: Students who have successfully completed Math 3 (Algebra 1) and English 3 (Preparing for College Writing II) and English 5 (Reading Improvement II) or higher level at TCC within the past year of the opening date of the announcement will not need to retake the placement test.

Q: Where can I get information on taking the placement/assessment test?

All students who wish to enroll in courses at TCC must participate in the college’s  Placement Testing Program.

The testing schedule and sample questions are available on the TCC website:  http://www.tcc.edu/students/admissions/index.htm, by calling any of the TCC campuses at:.  Chesapeake 822-5100; Norfolk 822-1110; Portsmouth 822-2124;Virginia Beach  822-7100

Q: I haven’t attended Tidewater Community College for several years; do I have to reapply for admissions?

If you have not been enrolled in classes at TCC for more than three years you will have to update your records at Enrollment Services Office on campus. Complete an application for admission and print "UPDATE" on the top.

The application for admission is available on the TCC website: http://www.tcc.edu/students/admissions/index.htm. If it has been less than three years you will still be able to register as usual. Any time you are away from TCC for any length of time, it is a good idea to visit your campus Counseling and Enrollment Services offices to make sure that your records are up to date and to see if there have been any changes made to your curriculum.

Q: I attended another college before coming to Tidewater Community College. Will my credits transfer?

You first need to request your official transcripts to be sent by the previous institution to "Tidewater Community College, Central Records Office, P.O. Box 9000, Norfolk, VA 23509-9000 ". You will also need to complete the online form "Evaluation of Previous Educational Experiences and submit it electronically to the Central Records Office. THIS WILL NOT EXEMPT YOU FROM TAKING THE PLACEMENT TEST.

Q: I have a degree; do I still need to take the placement test?

Yes, the placement test determines eligibility for an interview.

Q: Can I use my SAT scores in lieu of the placement test?

No, even though TCC honors these scholastic tests as part of their normal admissions process, SAT scores will not be used for applying to the Shipyard’s apprentice program.

Q: Where else can I go to get more information?

NNSY will conduct information sessions at TCC, Portsmouth Campus, when the job announcement opens in October 2011.

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