Apprentice School News

HII announced David Horne has been promoted to vice president of trades at its Newport News Shipbuilding division.Horne’s promotion comes following the restructuring of trades and human resources and administration from one large organization into two standalone organizations. Xavier Beale will continue as vice president of human resources and administration. Both Horne and Beale will report directly to NNS President Jennifer Boykin.“Each part of this organization is critical to our success,” Boykin said.

Global defense and technologies company HII announced Tuesday that the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division plans to hire approximately 5,000 people this year to meet the shipbuilding needs of the Navy. The shipyard anticipates hiring nearly 21,000 people within the next decade as HII fulfills orders for U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines.“We at NNS are driven to support the men and women in uniform, to serve the nation, by delivering great ships,” said Xavier Beale, vice president of Human Resources and Trades for Newport News Shipbuilding. “This is not just a job.

Global engineering and defense technologies provider Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted commencement exercises for 170 graduates of the company’s Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). The ceremony was held at Liberty Live Church in Hampton.Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin began the event by addressing the graduates as the shipyard’s newest leaders. “I want you to know how proud I am of each of you for everything that you've accomplished,” Boykin said.

Global engineering and defense technologies provider Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that Xavier Beale has been appointed vice president of human resources and trades (HR&T) at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, effective April 1. Beale succeeds Susan Jacobs, who was appointed vice president, human resources and administration at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.In this new role at Newport News, Beale will oversee human resources administration…

The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding trains shipbuilders and leaders to build some of the highest value maritime assets on the planet: U.S. Navy ships. Dr. Latitia McCane, Director of Education, The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding discusses the challenges and rewards of the job.While most shipbuilders lament the dearth of interest from the next generation to take up a career in shipbuilding, Dr. Latitia McCane, Director of Education, The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding has the opposite problem…

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Wednesday that The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding was certified by the Council for Occupational Education to provide academic degrees in 26 educational programs.Starting in 2023, the school will grant associate degrees of applied science in maritime technology to apprentices who complete the required coursework and skills training, including maintenance electrician, marine designer, nuclear test technician, welding and modeling…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) hosted commencement exercises on Saturday, April 17, 2021, for 154 graduates of the company’s Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding. Due to the COVID-19 environment, and in an effort to keep all employees, staff, graduates and their guests safe, the ceremony was held outdoors at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton.“A drive-in movie-style graduation is likely not what you expected, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the past year in many ways isn’t what any of us expected…

American shipyards form an important economic engine, supporting nearly 400,000 jobs, $25.1 billion of labor income and $37.3 billion in gross domestic product (GDP), according to figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD).It’s a good thing, then, that U.S. shipyards were deemed essential businesses amid COVID-19 and have remained up and running throughout the pandemic. And it’s even better that most yards have been able to keep their workers employed despite less than stable market conditions…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that The Apprentice School at its Newport News Shipbuilding division has been approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to operate as a postsecondary institution. The certification gives the school the authority to grant academic degrees, further enhancing its national reputation as the model apprenticeship program.The school plans to grant associates of applied science degrees in maritime technology in 26 disciplines…

The Hepburn and Sons LLC team welcomed David Rice, CAPT David Bauer, USN (Ret), and Gary Loberg as their newest members. David Rice serves as Senior Consultant, Material Science. David Bauer will serve as the Senior Manager, Material Science. Gary Loberg serves as Senior Manager, Advisory Services.David Rice comes to Hepburn and Sons, LLC after a career spanning 45 years at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). During his time at NNS he served as the Manager of Contracted Research & Development and was responsible for Research & Development Programs funded by ONR/ManTech…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced changes to its leadership team at its Newport News Shipbuilding division, effective March 13.Julia Jones was promoted to vice president of manufacturing and facilities, where she is responsible for all manufacturing and facilities operations. She has served as the acting vice president since January. Jones has more than 22 years of shipbuilding experience, including positions of increasing responsibility in operations, planning, manufacturing, nuclear support and corporate strategic planning.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted commencement exercises on Saturday for 145 graduates of the company’s Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding. The ceremony, held at Liberty Baptist Church Worship Center in Hampton, commemorated the school’s centennial graduating class.“Graduates of the 100th class of the Apprentice School, you know what it takes to do this amazing and important and difficult work,” said retired Adm. John Richardson, the former chief of naval operations, who delivered the commencement address.

The Apprentice School at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division celebrated its 100-year anniversary just last month. That's worthy of inclusion in this year's MN100 list, for more than one reason. Certainly, this fine school deserves to be mentioned among our very best 100 organizations for this year. That 100-year anniversary is bigger news than you might otherwise think. Accordingly, the company held a ceremony to mark the day – July 1, 1919 – when the school was established.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced leadership changes for its Newport News Shipbuilding division.Damon Saetre has been promoted to vice president of integrated planning and production control. In this role, he oversees all direct planning, supply chain planning and production control functions across the organization. This includes leading the Navy program work plans, as well as workforce and capacity planning.Saetre, who assumed his new role this week and reports to Newport News President Jennifer Boykin…

Huntington Ingalls Industries hosted a graduation ceremony on Saturday for the company’s apprenticeship program at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Nine different crafts were represented among the 159 graduates of the 2019 class.Mississippi Speaker of the House, Philip Gunn, delivered the keynote address. “The prosperity of Mississippi begins with people like you,” he said. “The careers for which you are now prepared are the backbone of America. Over 60 percent of the jobs in America are held by people like you who make up a skilled and educated workforce.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted commencement exercises on Saturday, March 2, 2019, for 157 graduates of The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding. The apprenticeship is a rigorous four- to eight-year program designed to develop the next generation of shipyard leaders. The Apprentice School, which first opened in 1919 with 126 apprentices, is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year. Over the last 100 years, the school has produced more than 10,800 graduates.“To casually say that you build ships falls woefully short of how you serve the United States of America…

One-on-one with Suzanne Beckstoffer, an accomplished engineering leader and business woman, the first woman president in SNAME’s 125 year history.As the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2018, it will celebrate another historical milestone at the start of 2019 when Suzanne M. Beckstoffer takes the helm of SNAME as president, the first woman to hold this position in the association’s history. We met recently with Beckstoffer to discuss her distinguished shipbuilding career…

Huntington Ingalls Industries  announced  the promotion of Xavier Beale to vice president of trades at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. He will succeed Ray Bagley, a master shipbuilder who retired in July after more than 43 years of service.In this role, Beale, who most recently served as director of human resources operations, will be responsible for production trades, trades management, trades administration and The Apprentice School. He will report directly to Matt Needy, Newport News’ vice president of operations.“Xavier brings knowledge and experience as well as a unique personal and professional perspective,” said Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin. “He is a second-generation shipbuilder with a close connection to our workforce.

Scott Weldon was promoted to vice president of supply chain management at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. In this role, Weldon will provide leadership to all Ingalls supply chain management functions, including sourcing, procurement, inventory control and material warehousing. He succeeds Lori Harper, who will retire on Aug. 1 after more than 15 years of service at Ingalls. Weldon joined HII in 1998 and served in various leadership positions across the shipyard. Most recently, he served as chief procurement officer.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced today that Bryan Caccavale has been promoted to vice president of strategic sourcing for the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. He assumed his new role this week and reports to the shipyard’s president, Jennifer Boykin. Caccavale joined Newport News in 2002 and has held leadership positions in contracts and pricing and business management. He also served as director of business management for aircraft carrier construction, overhaul and inactivation, where he supported the CVN 80 and 81 multi-ship procurement strategy. He began serving as director of strategic sourcing in April. “Bryan…

John Temple has been appointed vice president of strategic sourcing at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division. Temple, an Apprentice School graduate, began his shipbuilding career in Newport News’ pipe department. He has worked in quality inspection, cost engineering and contracts and pricing. Five years ago, he earned the “Master Shipbuilder” designation, which celebrates shipbuilders who have worked 40 years of continuous service. He most recently served as vice president of contracts and supply chain management at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted a ceremony on Saturday for 123 graduates of its apprentice program. The class of 2017 graduates represent several classes of shipyard trades. “You are each a vital member of the Ingalls Shipbuilding team that builds the most complex warships the world has ever known,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias told the graduates. “When you applied for this program, you were choosing to start down a path to becoming an Ingalls leader.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced two promotions to the company’s leadership team at its Newport News Shipbuilding division: Dave Bolcar has been promoted to vice president of submarine construction, and Bill Smith has been promoted to vice president, fleet support programs. Having most recently served as director of the Columbia-class program, Bolcar is now vice president of submarine construction, which currently encompasses both the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs.