APRIL 1, 2025 – Over the past several years, the demand for skilled tradespeople has been trending upward in the United States, especially in manufacturing and industrial trades. For civilians living near bustling military installations, it’s no surprise they might find work in various trades on those bases, helping to keep warfighters at the top of their game.
Naval shipyards, for example, require very specific skills to maintain, modernize and repair massive ships. So, the service offers a few opportunities to train those civilians — initiatives that support the defense secretary’s emphasis on making robust investments toward the defense industrial base.
124 Years of Excellence
Since 1901, the civilian apprenticeship program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, has trained civilians in more than two dozen shipyard trades, including welding, machine operations, electrical work, rigging, painting and shipfitting. Each of these trades is key to readiness within the U.S. military.
“We have produced over 10,000 graduates through the program,” said Reuben Farley, the shipyard production training superintendent for the production workforce, which oversees the apprentice program.
Farley said people who graduate from the paid four-year program work throughout the shipyard in Labor Department-certified trades, from beginner to division head positions. “It’s a great way for upward mobility and to learn a trade without coming in with knowledge,” he said.
Applicants must hold at least an entry-level position at the shipyard, and the program is pretty competitive. Farley said about 400-500 people apply yearly, and about 200 are selected.
Apprentice program graduates have been an asset to the shipyard for more than 120 years, not only because they leave the program with the skills and expertise needed to lead work projects but because they also showcase the dedication to learning and leadership that are essential to guiding the shipyard of the future.
The apprenticeship includes two components: classroom academics and physical training. Students take two compressed college-level classes daily during the first year, such as English, physics and math. Then, they go through about three years of robust trade theory classes accredited by the state’s curriculum board.
“Painting and blasting, for instance — they will spend time talking through all the equipment they use …. then they get into more of the technical aspects of [military specifications] and requirements,” Farley said.
For welders — dozens of whom were busy at work behind Farley during his interview — classes are focused on improving the various procedures.
“Each metal they’re welding has a different process to it,” Farley said. “They’re also doing it upside-down in a 12-inch space, standing on their head and having to do it, like [for] foundations in a submarine and pipes that are already in place. They’ve really got to be able to manipulate themselves. … It’s very artistic.”
The apprentices often work alongside regular work crews, which allows them to have mentors. Those who complete the program earn an associate degree in technical arts, as well as certificates from the Department of the Navy and the Labor Department.
Expanding Learning, Increasing Opportunity
Andrea Abrams, who graduated from the apprenticeship program in 2015, comes from a family of shipyard workers. Her grandfather was a welder, and her brother, father and great-grandfather were all riggers. She thought it was a cool career, so she took an entry-level job in that position, too.
“We’re the ones that are hooking up all of these large items to the cranes to help lift things,” she said. “We also work inside the ships.”
Abrams said the apprenticeship program has taught her a lot aside from rigging.
“It’s a cohort system, so it actually helps you lead others and mentor others who may be having a hard time in class,” she said. “You also get to learn other trade aspects. You’re taking drawing classes to learn how to do blueprints. You do [computer-aided design] classes, which are attached to that. It’s pretty in-depth learning.”
“Our completion rate for the program is at about 93% right now,” Farley said, noting most students who go through it succeed.
He said one of the most important things the apprenticeship teaches is pride in your work.
“There are sailors that will get off a ship or a boat when you’re done with it, and you don’t want your work to be the problem that they have,” Abrams said. “Everything you do needs to be with purpose and pride.”
While an entry-level employee considering the apprenticeship may work in one particular trade, they can apply for different trades through the program.
“We might have a painter that comes in and really wants to be an electrician. [They] will apply for the electrician apprenticeship and have the opportunity to get interviewed and selected,” Farley said.
After Abrams finished her apprenticeship, she took a leadership role as an operational instructor for the program. She’s now an apprentice coordinator.
“The apprenticeship, it does give you a little leg up into leadership,” she said. “Out of the 700 riggers [in the shipyard] every year, there’s only about 10 to 18 apprentices that year. So, there is more of a spotlight on you, and that’s the same way for every class.”
Abrams said the program bonded her to others in her class — something that can be useful down the road in their careers.
“You have that networking aspect,” she said. “That is probably a key to the apprenticeship itself.”
By Katie Lange, DOD News