The Norfolk Naval Shipyard(NNSY) Apprentice Program will be accepting applications for the 2016 apprentice class from November 2, 2015 through November 30, 2015
FAQs
ANY SHIP. ANY TIME. ANY WHERE.
The NNSY Apprentice program is a four-year training program which is designed to attract students to the federal government. Students are taken through a challenging 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 “Technician Career Studies Certificate”. All academics for the certificate program will be given during working hours of 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 Portsmouth Campus. Compressed sessions will consist of two, nine week sessions. Students will be required to provide their own transportation while taking classes at the TCC Portsmouth Campus. 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 NNSY; provided the student receives a grade of “C” or better in the courses of work pursued. Apprentices are employed at the pay rate of WT-1 with a salary range of $13.84 to $15.26 per hour and receive promotions upon successful completion of program requirements. Upon graduation, apprentices are converted to the journeymen level of their trade.
Other benefits include: sick leave, annual leave, federal holidays, health Insurance, life Insurance, and a retirement plan.
All perspective candidates must:
- Be a United States citizen
- Have graduated with a High School diploma or GED equivalent
- Meet minimum requirements on TCC placement test
- Be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance
- Pass medical requirements
For more information, you may contact us via phone 757/396-4777, 757/396-4355 or email us at
nfsh_nnsy_apprentice_admin@navy.mil
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, and 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, to ensure 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.
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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 TCC campus.
NOTE: All apprenticeship applicants must self-identify their status to Community College testing center staff and complete the Placement Test (VPT).
Applicants must apply online through USAJOBS. Locate the announcement by using the "Search for Jobs" feature on the USAJOBS website: www.usajobs.gov.
- On the USAJOBS homepage, sign in or create password if one has not been created
- Build/create your resume then in the “Keyword” block type "Apprentice", and in the “Location” block, type “Portsmouth, VA”
- Open announcement by clicking on Apprentice vacancy
- Click "apply online" button
- On this page select your resume then click "apply for this position now"
- You will be taken to the Application Manager program. Create a password, if one has not been created.
- Complete the required assessment questionnaire.
- Upload and submit your printed copy of your TCC Placement Test results, and if applicable all military documents; All DD-214's, and if applicable SF-15 Form and VA Letter.
- Upon completion of your application package, you will receive a confirmation message with your vacancy ID number.
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Q: How do I apply for admission to Tidewater Community College?
Visit any Tidewater Community campus Admissions Office for assistance or apply online at http://www.tcc.edu/students/admissions/online.htm.
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Q: How can I determine if I submitted my resume correctly?
Log into Application Manager, click on the job announcement for which you applied and it will state “completed”.
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Q: What if I forgot my USAJOBS or 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 will 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.
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Q: Who needs to take the college placement test?
Each individual applying for NNSY’s Apprentice Program must take the TCC Placement Test. The placement test must have been taken between November 2, 2014 and November 30, 2015.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE A PRINTED COPY OF YOUR TEST RESULTS FROM THE TCC TESTING CENTER. YOU WILL NEED TO SCAN AND UPLOAD YOUR TEST RESULTS WITH YOUR APPLICATION.
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Q: Where can I get information on taking the TCC Placement Test?
The testing schedule and sample questions are available on the TCC website: http://www.tcc.edu/students/admissions/plactest/#about, by calling any of the TCC campuses at: Chesapeake 822-5100; Norfolk 822-1110; Portsmouth 822-2124; Virginia Beach 822-7100
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Q: I have not attended TCC for several years; do I have to reapply for admissions?
If you have not been enrolled in classes at TCC for more than six months, you will have to update your records at the Enrollment Services Office on any TCC campus. Complete an application for admission and print "UPDATE" on the top of the page.
The application for admission is available on the TCC website: http://www.tcc.edu/students/admissions/index.htm.
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Q: I attended another college before coming to TCC. Will my credits transfer?
Transfer of credits will be determined by TCC. Follow instructions below to request transcripts.
- Request your official transcripts to be sent by the previous institution to Tidewater Community College, Central Records Office, and P.O. Box 9000, Norfolk, VA 23509-9000.
- Complete the online form Evaluation of Previous Educational Experiences
- Submit it electronically to the Central Records Office.
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Q: I have a degree; do I still need to take the placement test?
Yes, the placement test determines eligibility for an interview.
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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 in lieu of the placement test.
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Q: Where else can I get more information about the Apprentice Program?
NNSY conducts information sessions at TCC, Portsmouth Campus, every Monday at 4:00pm and every Wednesday at 2:00pm. These sessions will start September 28, 2015 through November 23, 2015, with the exception of October 12, 2015, November 11, 2015, November 18, 2015 and November 25, 2015.
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