MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — Want to help build rockets and get paid while learning the skills to do it?
Blue Origin is launching a new apprenticeship program designed to open doors to the growing space industry, and a four-year college degree isn’t required.
The company is expanding its workforce as its Space Coast operations continue to grow, creating new opportunities for people interested in careers in aerospace manufacturing.
Called ATLAS, or the Advanced Training and Learning Academy for Space, the program combines hands-on experience with classroom instruction to prepare the next generation of space industry workers.
“So, ATLAS is our Advanced Training and Learning Academy for Space. It’s Blue Origin’s first apprenticeship program, registered apprenticeship program, specifically for space manufacturing,” said Amber Phillips, Blue Origin’s senior director of operations human resources.
The program launched this month in Alabama with 10 machinist apprentices. Now, Blue Origin is preparing to bring the opportunity to Florida.
Apprentices on the Space Coast will get hands-on experience working with some of the company’s most ambitious projects, including its lunar landers and New Glenn rockets.
“When our apprentices join here in Florida, they’re hands-on in building our lunar landers or our New Glenn rockets. They will be able to touch all sorts of flight hardware where they also establish their learnings in the classroom,” Phillips said.
The opportunity comes with a paycheck, too. Apprentices can earn up to $52,000 a year in pay and benefits, with opportunities to increase their earnings as they develop new skills.
The program comes as Blue Origin continues to build out its Space Coast presence. The company has plans for additional launch pads, a new booster processing facility and other infrastructure to support a higher launch cadence.
Blue Origin is also working toward returning its New Glenn rocket to flight before the end of the year, following a May anomaly that damaged Launch Complex 36.
Phillips said the return-to-flight effort is generating excitement throughout the company and among its industry partners.
“We have such an energized workforce at the Pad. We have our plans to return to flight this year, which is rallying a lot of great engagement, not just from our workforce, but from our suppliers, contractors, and the like,” Phillips said.
As Blue Origin prepares for its next chapter on the Space Coast, the ATLAS program could give aspiring aerospace workers a chance to get in on the ground floor, learning valuable skills, earning a paycheck and helping build the future of space exploration.
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