Newport News Shipbuilding has signed an agreement with Old Dominion University to offer a bachelor's degree to some of its apprentices.
The company is the largest industrial employer in Virginia and the only one in the world to build aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy.
Out of about 6,000 applicants, the company selects about 250 apprentices each year. Those apprentices are guaranteed jobs following the completion of their four- to eight-year, tuition-free apprenticeship.
The agreement signed on Wednesday will allow some of the apprentices to earn a bachelor of science degree at no cost to the student. The company will pay for the coursework.
Students selected for the program will complete their apprenticeship and engineering degree in five to eight years.
Originally appearing in The Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/shipbuilding-apprentices-offered-odu-degrees/2014/04/23/15f13126-cb00-11e3-b81a-6fff56bc591e_story.html.