Our Stories

Irving Shipbuilding is Nova Scotia's largest employer of apprentices and we plan to keep numbers growing.

We're investing in the future of skilled trades, with shipbuilding in focus. Apprentices at Halifax Shipyard are the foundation of Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy, a workforce driving progress and gaining cutting-edge experience.

As Canada's most modern shipbuilder, we partnered with the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency (NSAA), Unifor Marine Workers Local1 and Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) to build a robust apprenticeship program. We are developing best practices in safety and training to place Canadian shipbuilders among the top in the world.

Thirty-nine apprentices at Halifax Shipyard earned their Red Seal certification in 2019. Despite the circumstances of a global pandemic, apprentices across 5 trades: Pipefitting, Electrical, Welding, Metal Fabrication and Millwright, were officially presented with their Red Seal certificates in late 2020 and early 2021, earning the title of Journeyperson and the opportunity to apply their skills anywhere in Canada.

With more than 30 years of meaningful employment at Irving Shipbuilding up ahead, we look forward to seeing these Red Seal recipients take on new challenges in their careers.