The employees of one of Maine’s largest employers will soon have a discount at the state’s public universities.

The University of Maine System is offering a tuition discount for Bath Iron Works shipbuilders interested in pursuing postsecondary education and training through Maine’s public universities, the shipyard announced in a Tuesday news release. The Deckplates to Degrees partnership provides BIW employees with a 10% discount on all undergraduate and graduate courses.

The course is an Advanced Research Learning Experience and part of the University of Maine System’s TRANSFORMS, which advances educational attainment, workforce development, innovation, and research and development for the state. It aims to help students build their research and discovery skills and use them to address real-world challenges.

“Bath built is best built, and now BIW employees can be the best educated through the University of Maine System,” said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “Maine’s public universities look forward to supporting the professional development and economic mobility of more BIW workers while enabling this essential Maine employer to recruit and retain the skilled workforce necessary to their company’s success and our nation’s security.”

The discount works with the existing BIW tuition reimbursement program, which provides full reimbursement for coursework related to employees’ jobs. The discount reduces employees’ out-of-pocket costs with reimbursement after completing a college course.

Deckplates to Degrees is the latest evolving partnership with the University of Maine System. One course to come out of the partnership is out of the university’s business school, in which students undertake research learning to develop real-world solutions to challenges facing the company.

“BIW is committed to its employees and supports their ongoing career success and personal development,” said BIW Vice President of Human Resources Ray Steen. “This tuition discount program will make it more affordable for our employees to pursue their educational goals.”