Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has extended full-time job offers to 29 high school seniors across coastal Mississippi and Alabama who have successfully completed Ingalls Shipbuilder Academy.
“These students earned a place in this program because of their mechanical skills and academic performance, and by working hard and maintaining great attendance,” said Edmond Hughes, Ingalls’ vice president of human resources and administration. “They will join more than 11,000 Ingalls Shipbuilding employees who are proud to be building the greatest ships in the world.”
Ingalls Shipbuilder Academy is a work-based training program that allows participants to learn technical skills and earn multiple craft credentials. Training is done in partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at locations in Pascagoula and Gulfport. Ingalls provides guidance, materials, engineering and construction expertise to facilitate training that exposes students to various maritime trades. Upon program completion, graduates enter the Ingalls workforce as entry-level skilled craftsmen and women.
Since 2016, Ingalls Shipbuilder Academy has helped fill the industry skills gap by providing students across the region with a strong foundation in the maritime industry. More than 200 students have successfully completed the program and more than 100 have accepted job offers at Ingalls to date.
“We are proud that these students have successfully completed Ingalls Shipbuilder Academy and have chosen to begin their careers right here in Jackson County,” said George S. Jones, Ingalls’ vice president of operations. "We are dedicated to training, teaching, and mentoring these students and we look forward to seeing them on the ships and in our shops at Ingalls Shipbuilding.”