Mission Technologies hosted a graduation ceremony on Jan. 9 for three graduates of its Fleet Sustainment Apprenticeship Program.
Daniel J. Dickey, Travis D. Dupree and Adalberto J. Sosa all earned journeyworker cards and career studies certificates in maritime technologies from Tidewater Community College. Dickey also earned a certificate in marine mechanical; Dupree and Sosa earned certificates in marine electrical.
Tim McCue, director of the Fleet Sustainment portfolio in Mission Technologies’ Global Security group, spoke at the ceremony, telling attendees that the Apprenticeship Program “is preeminent in terms of what our customers want us to do.”
“They want us to continue to grow people that not only have the skills to do the trades, but also future leaders,” he said. “That’s what our customer’s looking for us to do—is make sure we’re growing those people, making sure we’re setting us up … for the future 40 years. You’re part of that culture. You’re part of that tradition.”
The Fleet Sustainment Apprenticeship Program, founded in 2010, includes 576 hours of classroom instruction and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training.
Dupree said graduating is “a feeling of accomplishment.”
“The fact that I had the ability to show people that you can still grow and learn at my tender age is very inspiring accomplishment to me,” Dupree added. “My new goal now that I have graduated is to set myself up to move into a position of management—to grow inside the company to provide continued growth and knowledge to help myself as well as HII.”
Asked what advice he would you give to someone considering the Apprenticeship Program, Dickey said: “My advice is that the knowledge you gain with the apprenticeship program is very useful to understanding a lot about the work we do in the shipyard and HII.”
For more information about the Apprenticeship Program, call Catherine Evans, the program’s coordinator, at 757-406-8336.
