ADVISORY, Dec. 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Join Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott and Rob Wittman, Delegate Chris Jones, Newport News Mayor McKinley Price, and Armada Hoffler and Huntington Ingalls Industries leadership, as well as other business and community leaders, to celebrate the opening of the new Apprentice School. Please RSVP by noon on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Parking for media will be reserved on Washington Avenue. This is NOT a public event.

The 90,000-square-foot Apprentice School is the result of a partnership between Newport News Shipbuilding, the City of Newport News and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The school features state-of-the-art facilities, including eight computer labs, two video teleconferencing classrooms, a physics lab and 600-seat gymnasium. The campus also includes workforce housing, retail space and a parking garage.

The Apprentice School accepts about 250 apprentices per year. The school offers four- and five-year, tuition-free apprenticeships in 25 occupations to qualified men and women. Apprentices work a regular 40-hour week and are paid for all work, including time spent in academic classes. Through partnerships with Thomas Nelson Community College and Tidewater Community College, The Apprentice School's academic program provides the opportunity to earn associate degrees in business administration, engineering and engineering technology. 

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder at its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions. Employing more than 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, HII also provides a wide variety of products and services to the commercial energy industry and other government customers, including the Department of Energy. For more information about HII, visit:

• HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
• HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
• HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries