(Newport News, Va.) (AP) — The Virginia company that builds the nation’s aircraft carriers and some of its submarines plans to hire nearly 7,000 people in the next five years and will partner with the state to recruit and train those workers, officials said Tuesday.

The announcement reflects the growing need for skilled workers at shipyards that serve the U.S. Navy. It hopes to significantly expand its fleet of ships, from 284 to 355, in the coming decades.

The new jobs will support existing contracts to build and maintain subs and aircraft carriers at Newport News Shipbuilding, a sprawling facility that sits along the James River, not far from the world’s largest Navy base in Norfolk.

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