The following story was written for the Manufacturing Skills Institute newsletter by Wes Smith, the Executive Director of Workforce Solutions at MSI.

NEWPORT NEWS - As student debt rises and the promise of a four-year degree delivering a stable career grows less certain, more young people are rethinking the traditional college path. At the same time, employers nationwide face growing challenges in filling skilled positions. The Apprentice School offers a very innovative solution to this—one that combines accredited education, competitive athletics, and a full-time career into a single, debt-free pathway to career success.

With seven NCAA Division III athletic programs—football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's wrestling, baseball, and golf—The Apprentice School delivers the same high-level competition and team experience found at universities, but with a major distinction: graduates leave with nationally recognized trade credentials, years of work experience, and a career at one of the most advanced shipyards in the world.

A Proven Record of Success

• 12 National Championships and 16 Individual National Championships
• 175 current Apprentice Athletes representing 19 states
• Over 500 athletic alumni still with the company—250+ from the year 2000 onward
• 40+ former athletes in upper management at Newport News Shipbuilding

"Apprentice Athletics plays a key role in recruiting a diverse group of future leaders… Our athletic program provides individuals the opportunity to learn a trade, receive a free education, and begin a rewarding career, all while playing collegiate athletics… There is truly no more challenging environment to be a successful college athlete." — Jeff Egnot, Director of Athletics

An Accredited, Integrated Education Model

The Apprentice School is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education and registered with the Virginia Apprenticeship Council. Apprentices can earn college credit, receive competitive pay and benefits, and learn a trade while working toward nationally recognized credentials.

Unlike standalone trade schools, The Apprentice School is embedded within Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)—a global engineering and defense technologies provider. This integration ensures every graduate's training is directly aligned to the shipyard's workforce needs, producing highly skilled employees who contribute to building the world's most advanced warships and submarines.

Athletic Strength Meets Industrial Demands

Shipbuilding is one of the most physically demanding career fields in the nation—requiring endurance, strength, focus, and resilience in often challenging environments. Apprentice Athletes are uniquely prepared for this reality. The same conditioning, discipline, and teamwork they practice on the field or in the gym translate directly into success in the yard.

Participation in competitive athletics builds habits of physical fitness, injury prevention, and mental toughness that extend beyond the game. These qualities not only help apprentices adapt quickly to the rigors of shipyard work, but also promote long-term health, reducing injuries and improving stamina across their careers.

"The Apprentice School has identified the importance of physical activity and social interaction… This unique investment pays dividends as Apprentice graduates go on to become leaders—mentally and emotionally healthy, and prepared to succeed." — Sean Hanrahan, Head Athletic Trainer

By investing in athletics, The Apprentice School is investing in a healthier workforce—graduates who can perform demanding work safely, recover quickly, and maintain the physical readiness needed to build the world's most advanced aircraft carriers and submarines.

Athletics as a Strategic Recruitment Tool

Like major universities, The Apprentice School uses athletics as a front-door recruiting tool—one that extends its reach far beyond the local region and into a truly national talent pool. Each sport becomes a vehicle to identify, attract, and engage high-potential students who might otherwise never consider a manufacturing career. These are often the same athletes that four-year universities are competing to recruit, but NNS offers them something those schools cannot: the ability to play at the collegiate level while earning a competitive salary, gaining an accredited education, and building a career from day one.

For most manufacturing companies, apprenticeship remains an internal workforce development function—focused on training people they already employ. For NNS, it's an outward-facing talent acquisition strategy. Athletics provides brand visibility in multiple states, puts recruiters in front of top student-athletes at high schools and tournaments nationwide, and delivers a clear message: you can compete at a high level in sports and in your career at the same time.

This approach directly addresses a pressing market need. By 2033, the U.S. manufacturing sector could face 1.9 million unfilled jobs due to both a shortage of applicants and a shortage of qualified skills. Over 65% of manufacturers cite attracting and retaining talent as their top business challenge — a concern driven by demographic shifts, retirements, high turnover, and changing expectations among younger generations. NNS's strategy turns apprenticeship into more than a training model—it becomes a competitive recruitment advantage in the fight for the next generation of skilled workers.

Changing Career Paths and Lives

For many apprentices, the program has been life changing.

"You could start and develop a life-long career, while being paid to go to school, and get to play the sport you love… That mindset has paid off substantially for me… 'Discipline is the bridge between knowledge and success.'" — Johnny Keller, General Foreman and former football player

"The shipyard gave me a career, and the Apprentice School gave me an education and a clear path forward… Wrestling gave me a community and a sense of purpose… and has opened the door for other women to follow the same path." — Erin Mosley, Welder and first woman in the Apprentice School wrestling program

A Model for the Future of Workforce Development

The Apprentice School's athletics-plus-apprenticeship model delivers more than wins on the field—it's a replicable strategy for solving three of the biggest challenges facing U.S. industry:

1. For students - It offers the full college-athletics experience—team competition, travel, and championship play—combined with accredited classroom learning, on-the-job training, and a full-time paycheck. Graduates leave with no student debt, nationally recognized credentials, and years of work experience in a high-demand trade. Their athletic background also builds habits of fitness, discipline, and resilience that prepare them for the physical and mental demands of a shipbuilding career.
2. For companies - It transforms apprenticeship from an internal training mechanism into a national recruitment platform. By leveraging athletics, NNS reaches high-potential candidates in every region, often the same individuals targeted by four-year universities. The program consistently produces graduates who are not only technically skilled but also disciplined, competitive, and team-oriented. Their physical readiness, teamwork, and stamina—refined in competitive athletics—translate directly to success in the demanding shipyard environment.
3. For the economy - With millions of manufacturing jobs at risk of going unfilled, models like this offer a concrete, scalable solution. By integrating athletic recruiting into skilled-trade apprenticeship, The Apprentice School creates a steady pipeline of workers prepared to fill critical roles in industries essential to national security and economic growth. Importantly, these apprentices arrive not just trained, but conditioned for the rigors of industrial work, promoting long-term health, safety, and productivity across their careers.

In an era where young people are re-evaluating the return on investment of higher education, this approach answers the call for high return-on-investment, career-aligned training that's both accessible and aspirational. It's not just about building warships—it's about building careers, communities, and a workforce that can sustain America's manufacturing leadership for decades to come.

At The Apprentice School, the scoreboard isn't just measured in championships—it's measured in the multitudes of apprentices who graduate ready to lead, innovate, and deliver on the nation's most complex manufacturing challenges. This is the future of workforce development, forged on the field and in the shipyard.