A paid shipbuilding apprenticeship running since 1919 and now covering 19 shipbuilding disciplines, with a minimum of 7,000 hours of on-the-job training plus roughly 1,000 hours of academic and trade-theory coursework. Apprentices are employees of Newport News Shipbuilding from day one and earn wages throughout; the school is accredited by the Council for Occupational Education and articulates into associate of applied science degrees in maritime technology through community-college and Old Dominion University partnerships. Applicants must be at least 18, though high-school seniors may apply for early admission. Adjacent tracks include Youth Builders and Apprentice EDGE pre-apprenticeships, a night school, and the accelerated Frontline FAST programme.