Huntington Ingalls Builds a Workforce to Do “Hard Stuff”
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is the largest U.S. shipbuilding company serving the military; its products include aircraft carriers, submarines, Coast Guard cutters, and more. A military ship is a hugely complex product, and the sailors’ lives depend on it being precisely made to specifications. To meet its motto of “Hard stuff done right” in the hands-on work of shipbuilding, HII combines careful hiring with a commitment to training. Building military ships is highly specialized, possibly requiring a military clearance as well as technical skills and physical strength, so positions are hard to fill. HII finds educated, strong people and then trains them to do the job.
One aspect of training is a set of apprenticeship programs. These run for four to eight years and combine classroom learning with on-the-job training. The latter may include training in crafts like welding and pipe fitting or in specialized areas such as rigging or nuclear testing. The program at the Newport News, Virginia, shipbuilding facility covers 19 trades, along with the choice to participate in eight advanced programs. Another facility, in Mississippi, offers apprenticeships in 13 trades. The two programs together have 130 instructors, many of whom themselves attended one of the schools. Employees are paid for a 40-hour week, including their time on the job and in classes. A first-year apprentice can earn $35,000 a year, with raises bringing the salary up to $58,000 after completion of the program—and because the program is paid for, they graduate without student loans to repay.
The training culminates in an apprentice degree that comes close to meeting the standards for an associate’s degree, so employees with a desire to continue on toward a college degree are well on their way. Employees who stay with HII for 40 years also can apply that experience to becoming designated a master shipbuilder. HII’s 1,400 master shipbuilders are another source of instructors for its apprenticeship program.
Another way in which HII seeks excellence through training is in its use of technology. Several years ago, it began researching ways to employ “augmented reality” in business applications including training. Augmented reality refers to displaying an overlay of digital information over a view of the physical world, the way football broadcasts on television draw lines on the field to illustrate plays. In HII’s training, it is used for showing the steps required to operate equipment while the trainee is at the equipment, viewing it on a tablet computer. HII’s success with this method has drawn the interest of the U.S. Navy, which may begin using HII’s augmented-reality technology to help sailors learn how to conduct maintenance.
Questions
What training methods does Huntington Ingalls use, according to the information given? How do these support its business needs?
How might HII evaluate the success of its training?