At yesterday's Job Fair, nearly 2,000 people showed up to learn more about the program. What was new this year was that no applications were handed out at the fair.

The only way to apply: Do it online.

"We thought fewer people would show up because of the online applications," said Freeman Correa Jr., shipyard production superintendent. "We were surprised when almost as many people came as last year."

Riley, a journeyman mechanic who just completed the four-year Apprentice Program, showed up to help out at informational booths. But four years ago, he was working as a Honolulu security guard with few prospects for another job. When he briefly attended the job fair and filled out an application form, he was convinced he didn't have a prayer.

Mechanic Don Riley said he still can't believe his luck at being chosen for the program, which he just completed. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Not only did he pass the written test, he made it through the required physical exam, interview and security check.

Without knowing a thing about shipwrights, Riley went into the Apprentice Program earning nearly three times his security job salary. Today, he says he still can't believe his luck.

"Once you're in, you have a job," said Jeannie Shaw, Honolulu Community College education coordinator for the Apprentice Program, which is facilitated by HCC. "With overtime, some of my second-year apprentices are making $50,000 a year."

Shaw said those who make it through the program are virtually guaranteed a shipyard job offer.

Shanon Barre took the required ASSET test twice before she made it into the program. The difference, she said, was that the second time she went through a $90 HCC workshop to prepare for the test.

Now an apprentice in the Marine Mechanic Shop, Barre says she was motivated to try again. The prospect of job security and extra earnings was too much to pass up.

"Four years from now, I'll be a mechanic," she said with a laugh. "I'll be making good pay."

The Apprentice Program was suspended in 1995 because of budget constraints. Since 1999, when it was reinstated, the program has operated as a partnership between HCC and the Navy Shipyard.

The shipyard is the state's largest industrial employer with 4,400 workers, and it can handle anything from a tugboat to a nuclear submarine to an aircraft carrier. But with more and more workers reaching retirement age, it's also facing a huge worker shortage.

Nolan Chang, Apprentice Program administrator for the shipyard, said that within five to eight years, nearly 50 percent of the blue-collar workforce could retire. Many of those who leave now hold supervisory positions.

The need to replenish the aging workforce with young blood gives would-be apprentices an extra advantage.

"This is not only a good-paying job, but with a lot of our old-timers leaving, there's a tremendous opportunity for rapid advancement," Chang said.