DOW's ATDM Project in Virginia Reaches 1,000 Graduates Milestone in Defense Manufacturing Training
The Department of War's Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) project in Danville, Virginia, graduated its 1,000th student on July 31, 2025. Funded with $104 million through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, the ATDM program prepares adult learners for defense manufacturing careers in four months.
It focuses on addressing workforce shortages in defense systems production. The program has partnered with the U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office for Strategic Submarines and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research since Fiscal Year 2020.
The ATDM has evolved into a regional training center teaching skills in additive manufacturing, advanced machining, non-destructive testing, metrology, and welding. The goal is to graduate 800-1,000 students annually to fill critical vacancies in the submarine industrial base, supported by the OASW(IBP)'s National Imperative for Industrial Skills Initiative.
