This week, teams around the country signed young, emerging talent, hoping to bolster their squads for the upcoming season. And it wasn’t at the NFL Draft.

36 high school seniors, part of the New Horizons Career and Education program, took place in a May 1 “Signing Day,” where they signed on to work for different employers.

New Horizons is a training program which helps young people transition into a range of professional fields, including construction. There are nine training centers in Virginia, and they serve approximately 1,500 public school students per year.

Nine firms signed up to a partnership with New Horizons, joining the specific Advanced Technical Careers (ATC) to form a pipeline of young employees. The ATC trains people in automotive, construction, and manufacturing businesses.

“We want talent for life at Newport News Shipbuilding and the New Horizons program is a great way to help us meet this goal.” said Matt Needy, VP of Operations at Newport News Shipbuilding. “These new shipbuilders will contribute to our amazing mission of building great Navy ships while becoming productive members of our community.”

New Horizons says it is determined to change the image and stereotype of a career in the technical trades.

Anyone with knowledge of the construction industry knows employees are hard to come by, and New Horizons has the potential to help remodelers find young workers with experience.

You can check out the Signing Day ceremony here.