Page 64: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2013)

64 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? NOVEMBER 2013 Training & EducationPathway to SuccessPathway to SuccessFor Ashley Wilber, apprenticeship training & academic degree is the Tell me how you came to be a welder here at BAE Systems Ship Repair. I have been here at BAE Sys- tems going on seven years now. I was just doing odd jobs out of high school ? Hardee?s, driving jobs like deliver- ing pizzas ? anything that was making money. I have a cousin, who at the time was an electrician apprentice, and he was telling me about the shipyard. I?d never heard of a shipyard even though I drove past it all the time. I would always look to see if the Disney boat was in the dry dock. I?d say, ?Hey, that?s Mickey Mouse. What is it doing in there?? I just never knew what it was.My cousin told me about the apprentice-ship program, and how it was a good op-portunity?you go to school, work and get a paycheck. It sounded like some-thing to look into, so I began to research each trade to see what was in high de-mand and who was hiring for that trade at that time. If things didn?t work out at the shipyard, would I be able to Þ nd work? I applied and was accepted. I decided that welding was what I really wanted to do. I was selected, went through my four years, and graduated from with my As- sociate?s Degree in Maritime Technolo- gies from Tidewater Community Col- lege as valedictorian. I was also Virginia Ship Repair Association (VSRA) Junior Tradesman of the Year for the area. My instructor was my mentor. He was very knowledgeable, and I really looked up to him. Working with him, I was trained and certiÞ ed as an aluminum welder, and assigned to do 5 XXX critical welding on the cruisers. I became a crew leader directly after graduation. After a couple of months of being a crew leader, I was designated ?STRIPES,? which is a supervisor lead person; and a couple of months into that, I was working on the LHDs ? the big deck amphibious ships ? doing aluminum foundations. The com- pany sent me to Hawaii for Þ ve and a half months to help with the removal and replacement of uptakes on the USS Port Royal and USS Chosin. I was a welder on the Port Royal, then a supervisor on the Chosin, and led the crew out there. We Þ nished a couple months ahead of schedule; I was very proud of how that Edward Lundquist talks to welder and apprentice instructor Ashley Wilber at BAE Systems Ship Repair?s Norfolk shipyard. MR #11 (58-65).indd 64MR #11 (58-65).indd 6411/11/2013 12:20:07 PM11/11/2013 12:20:07 PM