{"id":3228,"date":"2018-01-18T23:18:02","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T23:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/52.10.1.109\/?p=3228"},"modified":"2018-01-19T23:09:30","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T23:09:30","slug":"the-mission-is-aerospace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/?p=3228","title":{"rendered":"The mission is aerospace"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jan Wondra
\nA program jointly developed by Blackbox Training<\/a> and Lockheed Martin<\/a> is the first program of its type to prepare veterans who have military electronics experience, as well as those who have little or no industry experience, with the skills training and certifications that enable them to enter and create a career path in this growing aerospace\/defense industry.<\/p>\n

The program, which began in 2013, is funded through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and has depended particularly on cooperation with Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson and El Paso counties\u2019 workforce centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to create and maintain a top-of-the-notch talent pipeline for Lockheed Martin Space Systems, for our
\nElectronics Manufacturing Facility,\u201d said Brandon Toya, manager of the Lockheed Martin-Blackfox Partnership, and a veteran who has been with Lockheed Martin since 2008. \u201cThe aerospace industry is growing very rapidly here in Colorado and we reached out to Blackfox to customize a program with a good curriculum to develop the talent we need for our critical electronics assembly work.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the program\u2019s inception, Lockheed says it found that the Denver manufacturing pool wasn\u2019t big or deep, but noted that there were 500 people per month coming out of the military in Colorado needing to transition to civilian life. The firm made a decision to focus on training veterans in the electronics certification needed for its space programs. Some 65 percent of those entering the program are veterans.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Participants engage in a training and certification class at the Blackfox Training Institute. Certifications obtained at the Blackfox Training Institute are good for up to two years and reflect industry-wide production standards.
Photos courtesy of Blackfox Training Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very passionate about our program that provides transitioning veterans an opportunity for a career path as a civilian,\u201d said Al Dill, CEO of Blackfox Training Institute. \u201cWe work in conjunction and collaboration with various state departments. Right now, we are primarily working with the Colorado State Department of Labor and Employment, Veteran Services Group and with manufacturers that want to hire qualified people. They come to Blackfox and we filter their interest with skill-based assessments and the like, and then we collaborate with potential employers \u2026 to train and certify to those unique requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduates of the four-week program come out with nine Blackfox skillset certifications, known in the industry as IPC certifications. While several are needed for work in the Lockheed Martin EMF, others are marketable across other manufacturing categories outside aerospace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d love to keep every graduate, if not at Lockheed Martin, then within the robust aerospace industry here in Colorado,\u201d said Toya. \u201cBut the certifications are mobile for up to two years with the employee and these skill sets are very marketable across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2013, 113 people have graduated from the four-week Blackfox program, which is funded through state and federal training grants. There is no cost to the veteran and there is no cost to the employer. If graduates don\u2019t go to Lockheed, they go to other aerospace companies into communications or work on weather satellites. Two-thirds of graduates work at Lockheed Martin\u2019s Waterton Canyon EMF, an 85 percent retention rate. Among them is Johnny Grant, who separated from the Army in 2002 and jumped at the training chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to the workforce center in mid-2013 to see what options there were. I went past my allotted time with Uncle Sam to use it at college and the workforce counselors at the Department of Labor told me about the program,\u201d said Grant. \u201cIt didn\u2019t cost me anything as a veteran, as long as I fulfilled the program. Everything is provided by Blackfox and it was all paid for by the workforce center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado Workforce Centers are aware that those attending such intensive programs are often between jobs and struggle with living expenses during the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey even gave us King Soopers gas cards that we could use for groceries or fuel,\u201d said Grant. \u201cWhen we got short during the curriculum and we needed a little bit of help, we got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

EMF technician retention rates are improving at Lockheed Martin. Prior to the program\u2019s inception, retention was about 50 percent, but since the program\u2019s 2013 inception, overall retention rate jumped 30 percent to above 80 percent and continues to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince May of 2015 until now we\u2019ve hired 35 from this partnership and our retention rate rose to 92 percent,\u201d said Toya. \u201cIt\u2019s higher than average \u2013 the state customized their recruiting and our job is retaining them. We\u2019ve begun a veteran mentorship at Lockheed Martin with this program to cut the one-year attrition rates. Our veteran mentors meet with the vets in the Blackfox program, explain what it\u2019s like to work on the outside (of the military). He sees them before they\u2019re hired and stays with that group of employees for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Program graduates are quick to explain the Blackfox Training benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was given every tool I needed to succeed. If you\u2019re willing to sacrifice a little to get to school, you can do it,\u201d said Grant. \u201cYou get a sense of pride and fulfillment. I could take these certifications and go to Ford or Sony, but it wouldn\u2019t give me nearly the satisfaction of being here contributing to the aerospace mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program manager says he has gained too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing the facilitator of this program is extremely rewarding, to give back to our veteran community,\u201d said Toya.\u00a0 \u201cTo further their education with our tuition supports a strong and capable workforce and helps veterans integrate back into the civilian workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jan Wondra A program jointly developed by Blackbox Training and Lockheed Martin is the first program of its type to prepare veterans who have military electronics experience, as well as those who have little or no industry experience, with the skills training and certifications that enable them to enter and create a career path …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aerospace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}