NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s largest industrial employer signed an agreement with Old Dominion University on Wednesday to allow some of its apprentices to earn a bachelor’s degree while they complete their apprenticeship program.

Newport News Shipbuilding is the only shipbuilder in the world to build aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy and one of two to build submarines for the Navy. For nearly a century, the company has relied on its apprentice program to help fill slots at its shipyard on the James River.