The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard started a three-day recruitment effort on Monday morning with the goal to hire more than 530 entry-level employees for a variety of positions geared toward on-the-job learning.
The hiring push aims to fill four categories of trainee positions, including 20 vacancies in ship inactivation and dismantling, four vacancies for tool and parts attendants, 25 vacancies in material expediting and almost 500 vacancies for general helper-trainee positions.
Interested applicants can apply online at USAJOBS.gov. The hiring window closes on Wednesday evening at 8:59 p.m. local time.
To be eligible for employment at the shipyard, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years or older at the time of hiring and be able to pass security and physical fitness requirements for the desired position.
All new hires will join the shipyard's workforce in a full-time seasonal status, which means they could be placed in a non-pay status after a peak work period ends. They could be recalled back to work once the shipyard's workload increases again.
New employees will begin at a rate of pay of $16.41 an hour with the possibility of moving up four pay grades to $19.12 an hour. They will also receive an array of benefits, such as health insurance, paid tuition, 13 to 26 days of vacation, 13 days of paid sick leave and 10 paid holidays per year.
During the past few years, the shipyard's trainee hiring program has become one of the most common ways to join its workforce, said shipyard spokesman J.C. Mathews.
The shipyard is one of the largest employers in Kitsap County, with more than 14,000 employees who help maintain, modernize and retire U.S. Navy vessels that include aircraft carriers, submarines and destroyers.
Almost 2,000 new employees started working at the shipyard last year, bringing total employment to a recent peak level of more than 13,700 civilian employees. This year, the shipyard has already hosted numerous hiring events and has plans to bring even more people on board to meet the demands of its busy work schedule.
