Darion Williams was looking for a stable, well-paying job to support his growing family. Crystal Massop wanted a career close to home. Both found what they were looking for through classes at Virginia Peninsula Community College’s Newport News Trades Center.
Williams grew up in Waverly and graduated from Sussex Central High School. He moved to Richmond a few years after high school but returned to Hampton Roads last year. He was a truck driver for a while and also worked in massage therapy in Richmond. However, the former didn’t allow him much time with his family (he and his wife have two children), and the latter isn’t as lucrative in Hampton Roads.
“I definitely wanted to do something different,” he said.
An internet search landed him at HII Newport News Shipbuilding’s website. He learned the company was hiring. After going through the interview process, he received a job offer. However, the offer required him completing a welding class through VPCC’s Workforce Development program.
He is part of the first welding class at VPCC’s newest trade center. (There was a ribbon-cutting March 25.) The three-week class ends May 1, and he will start at the shipyard in mid-May.
“I don’t know what’s in store there,” he said, but he likes working with his hands and being creative.
He had visited other schools but was told their welding programs would cost him about $20,000. At VPCC, he was eligible for grants, including FANTIC (Financial Assistance for Noncredit Training for Industry Credentials).
The instructors, he said, are the best part of the program at VPCC.
“They are very one-on-one even though there’s a ton of us (13) in there,” he said. “They are very personable and they’re bringing their skill set to teach us. I really like that.”
He also enjoys the structure of the class, where they are on a tight schedule.
“It mimics as if we were at the shipyard already, very tight on arrival in the morning. Lunch is super tight,” he said. “I really like it. Plus, the hands-on side of it. You can’t beat it.”
He recommends it for everyone, whether new to the area, in a dead-end job or fresh out of high school and unsure of a career path.
“Or a 35-year-old,” he said as he pointed to himself. “Anybody who wants to switch up the norm, definitely.”
Massop, also, started with an online search before landing at VPCC via the shipyard. She is 26, has been in Hampton Roads for 10 years and graduated from Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach.
“I wanted to find a trade,” she said. “I watched some videos and I felt like an electrician was the best fit.”
Massop, who also has phlebotomy and medical assistance licenses, is in the initial MTT Marine Electrician class. After her two-week training period ends, she will start orientation at the shipyard.
She said the best parts of the program are the hands-on training and the plentiful individual instructions from her teacher.
“The classes are not huge (six in hers) so there are a lot of times where we can get one-on-one,” she said. “He’ll show us how to do things until we are able to understand it.”
The center’s location in downtown Newport News is perfect for her, also.
“I could stay home and be close to my grandmother because she’s sick right now,” Massop said.
One of her grandfathers was an electrician, and even though Massop never met him, she feels a connection.
“Knowing that he did something like this and being able to follow in his footsteps in a way is kind of cool,” she said.
She enjoyed working in the medical field but is always looking to learn new things.
“There’s no time to say, ‘Oh, stop doing that.’ You can do multiple things,” she said. “I have (those medical licenses) under my belt, and I’ll have this.”
She said she never would have guessed this was the initial class.
“With the first class, you always hear about bumps … but you couldn’t tell me this class hasn’t been running for years,” she said. “It’s very organized, a very clean facility.”
While Williams and Massop are in their programs through VPCC’s pre-hire initiatives with Newport News Shipbuilding and already have jobs secured, the classes are open to all students.
Open enrollment students who complete the program earn a certificate of completion and can apply for jobs at NNS, said Franz Albertini, director of Enrollment and Retention at Workforce Development.
