Six students are now full-time WesWorks employees at Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) after completing the new project controls apprenticeship program.

This apprentice program is a partnership between SRMC, Aiken Technical College (Aiken Tech), and one of SRMC’s integrated subcontractors WesWorks — a local, woman-owned small business that manages SRMC’s project controls initiatives. WesWorks is also a part of SRMC’s Small Business Mentor-Protégé Program.

In May 2025, the students completed their apprenticeship work and are now working full-time with project controls.

Project controls employees perform critical mission work, such as examining the scope of the project, assessing risk, creating baseline schedules and forecasts, and determining budget and schedule, among other tasks.

The apprenticeship program allowed participants to be paid to work in SRMC’s project controls area while also learning the fundamentals of the tasks as students at Aiken Tech. Over the last 10 months, the apprentices have had the opportunity to work in SRMC facilities.

With help from professional mentors, the students learned about the responsibilities that project controls entails, such as cost, scheduling, reporting, and estimating.

 Apprentice-turned-employee Anna McNamee said that the caliber of the training and work provided by both SRMC and Aiken Tech helped her better understand the job and its responsibilities.

“This program was vital in providing me with essential skills in cost analysis, scheduling, and Earned Value Management techniques that I needed to pursue my career,” McNamee said. “The knowledge that I have gained from this apprenticeship program will be invaluable while working on my current project and in the future as I continue to develop in project controls.”

This program is not only benefiting the apprentices, but the company as well, according to Daniel Faulk (WesWorks), SRMC’s Deputy Project Controls Manager.

“Project controls is a specialized skill in demand across the country,” Faulk said. “The apprenticeship partnership between SRMC, WesWorks, and Aiken Tech is a major step in ensuring a new pipeline of these professionals for the SRMC workforce. Congratulations to this inaugural project controls apprentice class for completing the program and beginning their careers in this important field.”

SRMC comprises parent company BWX Technologies, Inc. with partners Amentum and Fluor. Its team brings the capabilities necessary to accelerate cleanup at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site through safe nuclear operations, optimized and integrated mission execution, and strong corporate governance.