An old manufacturing town in southern Virginia is preparing workers for shipyards 250 miles across the state, with a short-term training program that’s on track to graduate 1K skilled shipbuilders a year.

“We’ve leaned in hard on what we’re good at—working with our hands,” says Jason Wells, executive vice president of manufacturing advancement at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research campus in Danville.

The Accelerated Training and Defense Manufacturing program launched at the institute in 2021, with a 100K-square-foot training facility opening last year. Roughly 1,350 people have graduated from ATDM so far.  

Companies around the country can send their employees to the intensive, four-month training program, where they learn new skills in additive manufacturing, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, quality control inspection, non-destructive testing, and welding. Employers also can send new hires and conditional pre-hires for training. And they can hire new graduates from the program.

The Big Idea: Many ATDM graduates find work in Hampton Roads, the top U.S. shipbuilding region. Shipbuilding skills are in short supply there—and nationwide. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 200K-250K additional maritime workers will be required over the next decade. 

That labor gap could widen further. President Trump has called for a new “Golden Fleet” to modernize the U.S. Navy, and his administration’s proposed 2026 defense budget calls for 19 new Navy ships.

“The focus in shipbuilding is due to the renewed interest in ramping up production,” Wells says. Since the U.S. shipbuilding industry began contracting in the 1980s, many experienced workers have retired, he says. “There’s a loss of skill sets.”

Boom and Bust

One stumbling block to regaining and retaining skilled workers is the cyclical nature of the industry, says William Bingham, a spokesman for the Virginia Ship Repair Association in Norfolk. 

“It’s not just a workforce problem. There needs to be a spotlight on workload. Hampton Roads is the largest [military] ship repair in the U.S. But there’s been a 40% reduction in ships for repair” because projects have been moved to other parts of the country or overseas. 

“We want to keep training people,” Bingham says, but “we don’t have enough work…We’re not being utilized. A stable workload is everything.”

To build up its industrial workforce, the Navy partners with nonprofit organizations such as the BlueForge Alliance, known for managing the BuildSubmarines recruiting campaign. In turn, BlueForge Alliance partners with educational institutions and training providers, including ATDM.

Companies and federal researchers around the country are teaming up with ATDM, including BAE, Northrop Grumman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and the Trident Refit facility located in Bangor, Wash.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest U.S. military shipbuilder, works with ATDM even though the company has its own well-established apprenticeship.

“We’ve hired dozens out of that program. We continue to hire skilled crafts across our programs” in submarine and aircraft carrier construction, says Todd Corillo, a spokesperson for HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division.

That division is a major partner for the Navy’s new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program. Last November it delivered the Massachusetts, a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine.

Rebuilding on Past Strengths

Danville, which has a population of about 42K, has a long manufacturing history in textiles and furniture building. But those industries moved away decades ago. So the area began investing in skills that would attract other industries.

“We realized that we wanted to incorporate advanced tech,” Wells says, while also continuing to embrace the region’s tradition of hands-on skilled craftsmanship.

Today the workforce conduit starts at the 6th-grade level, with labs that give students exposure to technologies such as 3D printing. Students progress along the way, learning work-relevant skills in high school. And new graduates can enter the ATDM program directly. They might then continue on to a community college or eventually receive a four-year degree.

“We’ve spent years crafting this pipeline, step by step,” says Wells. “Each step builds on the other. There are on- and off-ramps.”

ATDM works hard to make sure it teaches competencies that resonate with industry partners. But employers need to refine those skills, Wells says. “Sometimes people in the industry can get frustrated,” he says. “They think it should be plug and play. But they need to provide the specifics.”

The program provides education, an apartment, transportation, and a job at the end, according to Wells. The Navy and Department of Defense fund the program, along with state, higher education, and industry support.

Individuals come to the program from different geographic areas and walks of life. The training immerses students in a factory-like setting, so they learn the industry’s language and habits.

The Kicker: Many of the students are people who have been sidelined economically, Wells says. “They’re people who are trying to reinvent themselves.”