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Job Description

Overview

The WELDER/STRUCTURAL TRAINEE position at Newport News Shipbuilding is an opportunity for individuals with no trades experience to complete a three-week unpaid training program in welding. This program prepares trainees for a career in welding within the largest industrial employer in Virginia, focusing on the construction of U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines.

Responsibilities

  • Complete a three-week (120 hours) unpaid training program in welding.
  • Learn to perform structural and pipe welds throughout all phases of ship construction.
  • Employ various welding processes including SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, and GTAW.
  • Perform welding in all positions using both manual and mechanized techniques.
  • Meet stringent nondestructive testing requirements.
  • Receive further training in certified visual inspection and troubleshooting minor welding equipment issues.

Requirements

  • Must be able to pass a 3-week (UNPAID) program.
  • Must be able to take measurements or be willing to learn.
  • Must be willing to undergo a background investigation and drug screen.
  • Must be able to pass a physical agility test.
  • Must be able to kneel, squat, crawl, bend, stoop, and climb on a daily basis.
  • Must be able to lift at least 40 pounds.
  • Must be able to perform overhead work.
  • Must be able to work overtime as needed.
  • Must be able to be clean shaven to wear a respirator.
  • Must be able to perform work outdoors, year-round, in all weather conditions.
  • Must be able to work at extreme heights.
  • Must be able to work in small, tight, confined spaces.
  • Must be willing to work any shift.
  • High school graduate or equivalent preferred.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • 401k

Additional Information

  • Training held at Virginia Peninsula Community College, Tidewater Community College, or Camp Community College.
  • Shift: Multiple

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401k
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How this job compares in Newport News, VA

Pay in context

At roughly $29/hr, this posting comes in about 29% below the $41/hr median for welding jobs in Newport News, VA, where the middle half runs $29–$48/hr across 10 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 10% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.

The local market in Newport News, VA

We're tracking 15 other active welding openings in Newport News, VA right now, from 8 different employers. None of them were added in the last week, so this is a slower-moving market. Across Virginia as a whole we're tracking 180 other active welding openings from 114 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Newport News, or widen the search to Virginia.

HII currently has 6 other openings live in Virginia, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Virginia at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Colonna's Shipyard (8), Mission Technologies, a division of HII (6), and HII (6). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Virginia, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Newport News at $41/hr, Portsmouth at $41/hr, and Staunton at $34/hr. Newport News is among them.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, Stick, and Flux-Core work. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.

See all structural welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Similar openings near Newport News, VA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. WELDER/STRUCTURAL TRAINEE - 3 WEEK UNPAID PROGRAM figures were last recalculated when this page was built.