Career Development and Training
How We Train
The Bath Iron Works Training Department facilitates a wide range of programs supporting employee development through every professional phase, including pre-hire, orientation, and advanced skills development. BIW offers many different career paths, and the training department stands ready to support any training requirement needed for company success. They provide world-class instruction through a cadre of skilled instructors as well as close relationships with local educational institutions, enabling every employee to Safely Execute High Quality Work.
General Training Programs
New Employee Orientation (NEO)
New Employee Orientation is a week-long orientation program. It is the cornerstone for employment at Bath Iron Works for all disciplines, ensuring we successfully maintain our long-time reputation of Bath-Built is Best-Built.
New employees are introduced to company policies, procedures and concepts to safely execute high-quality work. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are welcomed onto their teams for department-specific onboarding where they will master basic skills required of their departments. All courses in this program promote employee safety and protection of ships equipment, enabling graduates to safely execute high-quality work.
OSHA 30
Our four-day Maritime OSHA 30 Training Program is intended for supervisors, managers and senior leadership at all levels of tenure. Focused on keeping workers safe and healthy through effective leadership, the program promotes general industry standards for safety in the workplace in alignment with BIW safety procedures and best practices.
This hybrid curriculum is comprised of both OSHA and BIW-authored material, providing a holistic and relevant training experience with an emphasis on predicting, recognizing and mitigating safety hazards.
Graduates earn a maritime OSHA 30 certification. All courses in this program promote employee safety and protection of ships equipment, enabling graduates to safely execute high-quality work and maintain our Bath-built legacy.
Operations Supervisor Leadership Program (OSLP)
The OSLP is a nine-day training program intended for both newly-hired and experienced manufacturing supervisors.
Students receive a full-scope education on the complexities of the supervisor role. This includes a focus on the organizational expectations associated with planning and supervising the execution of work.
OSLP promotes the Plan, Do, Check, Act methodology, ensuring graduates are actively engaged before, during, and after the point of execution.
Microsoft Suite Training
We partner with Southern Maine Community College to provide Microsoft Suite training, which covers basic and advanced levels of Excel as well as Access + SQL. This training is designed to sharpen fundamental skills for data-entry and management through instruction and hands-on practice in a computer lab.
Students learn key functions in data and database management such as SQL (structured query language), data validation, sparklines, risk analysis, advanced filtration, pivot tables and charts, conditional operations and more. Students receive reference materials to keep, helping ensure key concepts and functionalities are retained after the course has ended.
Trade-Specific Training Programs
We conduct in-depth training so that our employees can succeed in their trade.
Electrician (E02)
- Onboarding Training (2 weeks): New hires master the skills required to begin their careers at BIW, from tooling to welding.
- Refresher Training: Rotating groups of experienced electricians receive a 40-hour Electric Shop General Methods Training.
- Advanced Training: Electricians are prepared to ensure ship’s information systems are secure against adversaries through TEMPEST Training. Advanced electricians also receive NFPA-70E training, the industry standard for advanced electrical safety, as well as CPR/AED training, resulting in CPR certification.
General Laborer (L40)
- This program includes two weeks of Trade Onboarding directly following New Employee Orientation.
- New hires are prepared for this entry-level position through comprehensive and exciting classroom and hands-on components, including but not limited to: worker safety, site preparation and alignment, safe operation of tools and equipment, welding operations and hazard mitigation.
- Students partake in “Fire-Watch” Training as part of Trade Onboarding – an exciting course where students become certified to defend against the start and/or spread of fires on ships being constructed. Successful graduates of Onboarding Training also earn qualifications for tacking, grinding, MIG-welding, confined space entry and 480v plug/unplug.
Material Handler (H18)
- Onboarding Training (1 week): Through comprehensive classroom and hands-on components, students are prepared to join one of over thirty Local-6 Material Handling crews. Students master skills such as safely operating forklifts, running equipment, managing material and inventory, shipping and receiving of material and more. Successful graduates earn their forklift qualification. Crew-specific training and certifications follow onboarding as assigned.
- Crew-Specific: This training program sees rotating cohorts of senior mechanics cover everything from installation and alignment of ship’s components, to testing onboard machinery.
Outside Machinist (O04)
- Onboarding Training (2 weeks): This training program prepares new hires for the installation, alignment, operation and maintenance of shipboard equipment and machinery. Graduates receive certifications for tack welding and stud-shooting and learn to assess and implement fall protection equipment and use mobile lift equipment.
- Advanced Training (2–3 days): This training program sees rotating cohorts of senior mechanics cover everything from installation and alignment of ship’s components, to testing onboard machinery.
Pipefitter (P18)
- Onboarding Training (4 weeks): New hires master the knowledge and skills required for their jobs; from understanding blueprints and work orders, to the safe operation of tools and equipment, such as ATA grinders and stud guns.
- Refresher Training: Focused on specialist crew operations where tenured pipefitters earn their EPA-680 certification.
Preservation Technician (P10)
- Onboarding Training (2 weeks): Exposes new hires to comprehensive classroom and hands-on training components for a full-scope education and prepares them to safely begin their careers in the shipyard. From using power tools for preparation of surfaces, to the art of brush-painting, graduates not only acquire basic skills required of their job, but also earn an ATA Grinder certification and may become certified in the Fire Watch Program.
- Advanced Training: Conducted over several weeks, enrolled employees may earn proficiencies in spray painting, powder coating, decking, tiling, stenciling, tallow application and may also earn their license for condo-lift operation.
Shipfitter (S40)
- Onboarding Training (6 weeks): Designed to prepare new hires for the construction of Navy ships by providing a thorough understanding of blueprints and fabrication techniques to safely lay out, cut, assemble and weld ship’s components to Navy specifications. New hires will learn how to use tools and equipment such as welding and plasma machines, cutting torches and pneumatic tools for grinding. Successful graduates earn qualifications for welding, tacking and plasma burning.
- Advanced Training (1–2 days): Experienced shipfitters may be selected for Advanced Burning Training (2 days) or Oxy-Fuel Training (1 day), resulting in additional certifications.
Welder (W12)
- Onboarding Training (3 weeks): New hires master the basics for safely beginning their welding career at BIW – from the setup and operation of equipment, to comprehension of welding processes and concepts. Graduates earn their qualification to perform FCAW and GMAW welding.
- Advanced Training (1–5 weeks): This training program is intended for experienced welders and focuses on specialized welding operations, from MIG Pulse-100 wire, exotic metals such as stainless, Inconel, Monel, to different TIG processes with multiple materials.
- Multi-Disciplinary Training: Refreshes the skills of employees from all trades that perform less-permanent types of welding and is available by request.
Leadership Training
BIW Leadership I
Facilitated by BIW and delivered by Southern Maine Community College, the BIW Leadership I Training Program seeks to improve teamwork, collaboration and communication across the entire company by ensuring our leaders gain the soft skills necessary for company, group and individual success at Bath Iron Works. The course is conducted over eight weeks, at one 3-hour session per week, and is intended for supervisors across all disciplines whom have been selected for enrollment. Course curriculum is designed to provide shipbuilding leaders with a combination of evidence-based theoretical knowledge and practical exercises that are directly applicable to their roles. “Back-to-Basics” strategies help students understand the importance of consistent language and behavior of leaders, ensuring reliability and predictable outcomes. Successful graduates have a strong understanding of how to lead with effective listening, engagement, planning, and follow-up discipline to safely contribute to shipbuilding success and positive company culture.
BIW Leadership II
Facilitated by BIW and delivered by Southern Maine Community College, the BIW Leadership II Training Program seeks to improve conflict resolution, behavioral agility, problem-solving, influence and motivation throughout the production environment. The course is conducted over three, eight-hour workshops and is intended for groups of organizational leaders whom have been selected for enrollment, and meet the BIW Leadership I pre-requisite. Scientifically-based curriculum provides students with a thorough understanding of concepts related to being an engaged leader, helping them to foster increasingly cohesive and efficient organizations. Small-group coaching sessions occur two-weeks after each workshop to ensure graduates receive continued support in their efforts to apply lessons learned toward organizational improvement.
Earn while You learn
BIW Apprentice School
The BIW Apprentice School has programs for Local 6, Local 7 and BMDA unions. All programs allow students to “earn while they learn”, ensuring BIW employees may confidently pursue higher education, maintain financial stability and contribute to production. These programs empower graduates to achieve personal and professional goals and promote employee safety at every turn; enabling graduates to maintain our enduring legacy of Bath Built is Best Built.
SMCC Course
Consolidated Project Management Training Course
Facilitated by BIW and delivered by Southern Maine Community College, this training program is intended for organizational project managers at all levels of experience, as well as employees whom would like to become project managers and have been selected or approved for enrollment.
The 12-hour course is conducted over the course of one week, and introduces students to all aspects of project planning at a broad level.
Program Details:
- The course will cover budgeting and estimating costs, building strong teams and realistic schedules, measuring risk, success and failure, planning for contingencies, managing expectations for project success, and client satisfaction.
- Among other activities, groups of students create mock-project plans and present them to the class for practice in the practical application of project planning principals.
- Successful graduates are better positioned to plan, manage and execute complex projects on budget and schedule, through cooperative and balanced team work.
- Students receive a project management book to keep as reference material.
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