business backgrounder | education & workforce
From Apprentice to Master
Olympic College and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility partner to produce a skilled workforce capable of maintaining and restoring military ships .
Debbie Ritenour
The apprenticeship program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility develops today ’ s journey-level workers and tomorrow ’ s leaders .
At A Glance
The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate
Maintenance Facility apprenticeship program was established in 1901 .
Olympic College oversees the academic portion of the program , which focuses on teaching technical and managerial skills .
Students earn two journeylevel certificates and an associate degree in technical arts .
www . awbinstitute . org www . commerce . wa . gov / datadashboard
When the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility ( PSNS & IMF ) was established in Bremerton in 1891 , skilled workers weren ’ t always easy to come by . The shipyard needed a trained workforce capable of building , repairing and maintaining world-class ships and other naval assets .
Ten years later , the shipyard ’ s leaders recognized the opportunity to develop workers from the local community , thereby ensuring the workers
“ The apprenticeship program is one of the most practical and sound training systems available to develop individuals into skilled journey-level workers .”
— Reuben Farley , apprenticeship program director , PSNS & IMF
had the required experience and expertise . They chose six men to serve as apprentices and receive hands-on training and instruction .
Today , about 200 students graduate from the PSNS & IMF apprenticeship program each year . Graduates receive two journey-level worker certificates — one from the U . S . Department of the Navy
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