As part of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Webster Outlying Field’s (NAWCAD WOLF) outreach encouraging high school students to pursue careers in manufacturing and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the command is set to graduate six students from the Apprenticeship Maryland Program (AMP) this month.

The AMP is a Maryland Department of Labor program in partnership with NAWCAD WOLF, the Patuxent Partnership, and local industry that provides students paid apprenticeship opportunities, which is an investment in the workforce that also benefits the Navy and Southern Maryland’s industrial base.

“This program has been enormously successful in garnering student interest in NAWCAD WOLF, and for those chosen to apprentice with us, it often leads to post-graduation careers with WOLF,” said NAWCAD WOLF Technical Workforce Development Operations Officer Carly Rutherford.

While NAWCAD WOLF has multiple programs and pathways to access new talent pursuing college degrees, the AMP is unique in that it is NAWCAD WOLF’s only pipeline to access students who are interested in the technical, skilled trades, which are in great demand within WOLF, the Navy, and the state of Maryland.

A youth apprenticeship program for students ages 16 to 18, the AMP is designed to lead to sustainable employment and further education based on career pathways in manufacturing and STEM occupations. The goal is to provide compensated, high-quality youth apprenticeships that prepare students to enter employment in skilled, high-growth sectors such as manufacturing, prototyping and design, fabrication, engineering technology, wiring, and information technology. Upon graduation, students have valuable technical skills and can be hired into full-time positions with government or industry partners.

Students who participate in the program attend the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, where they split their day between their home high schools and the center.

“For the 2025 school year, a record 26 students applied for apprenticeships at NAWCAD WOLF, which signals that many high school graduates are considering directly entering the technical workforce,” said NAWCAD WOLF Engineering and Prototyping Facility Team Lead Mike Bowles. “Working with AMP students and being a part of their personal and professional growth is without a doubt the most rewarding part of my position at WOLF.”

Bowles regularly represents NAWCAD WOLF at the center, teaching students about the important work the WOLF workforce does and the technical skills the Navy needs to deliver products to the warfighter. Students interested in hands-on engineering and prototype manufacturing work go on to become his apprentices in the shop.

Other apprenticeship opportunities include learning to fabricate fiber optic and electrical cables, a highly technical skill requiring patience and attention to detail, to create wiring kits for Navy and Marine Corps platforms at NAWCAD WOLF’s Special Communications Mission Solutions division.

NAWCAD WOLF provides formal classroom training and extensive on-the-job training to develop apprentices and prepare them for skilled technical careers. To prepare apprentices for getting their first job after graduation, NAWCAD WOLF conducts mock interviews with every apprentice. Most of the NAWCAD WOLF AMP graduates move on to full-time positions providing mission-critical capabilities directly to the warfighter.

NAWCAD WOLF develops and delivers airborne, shipboard, and shore-based organic solutions through rapid engineering, integration, installation, and sustainment for DOD, Navy, intelligence, and homeland security missions anywhere around the world.

For more information, please visit: www.navair.navy.mil/nawcad/NAWCAD-Webster-Outlying-Field-WOLF.