HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School is ‘Investing in America’

“I feel a lot of pride in the quality of my work.” 

Newport News Shipbuilding apprentice 

Founded in 1919, HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School has a storied tradition of developing shipbuilders. 

WAVY-TV highlighted apprentices at the school in a recent report for their ‘Investing in America’ series. 

Check out the story below to see how apprentices are making meaningful contributions to building the ships our U.S. Navy needs, while building their careers at the same time. 

Investing in America: Apprentice School keeps pipeline flowing for shipbuilders 

(April 1, 2026 by Chris Horne) 

More than 26,000 people build aircraft carriers and submarines at Newport News Shipbuilding, and someone has to teach the people who build them. 

One of the key pipelines to build the workforce and keep up with the needs of the U.S. Navy is the nearby Apprentice School, run by Huntington Ingalls Industries, now known as HII. 

“We make anything from washers that go in coffee pots to the assembly that actually steers the ship,” said apprentice Rachel Mantell, 32, one of about 50 in the current class. “I feel a lot of pride in the quality of my work.” 

Unlike most in her class, the mother of two is not fresh out of high school, having worked in a factory prior to setting a career course for shipbuilding. 

“I have a different lens that I look through,” Mantell said, “and I think that’s been to my benefit.” 

Jonathan Keese, 20, is in the second year of a four-year program, and the shipyard runs in his family. 

“My grandmother and my mother are both painters for the shipyard,” Keese said. 

You can read the entire story from WAVY-TV here. 


 

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HII Celebrates 2025 Graduates of The Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., (March 21, 2026) — HII (NYSE: HII) hosted commencement exercises today, celebrating 128 graduates of the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School. The ceremony was held at Liberty Live Church in Hampton. 


Read more here.