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22 SMT Magazine • September 2016 inception, retention was about 50%, but since the program's 2013 inception, overall retention rate jumped 30% to above 80% and continues to improve. "Since May of 2015 until now we've hired 35 from this partnership and our retention rate rose to 92%," said Toya. "It's higher than aver- age—the state customized their recruiting and our job is retaining them. We've begun a vet- eran 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's like to work on the outside (of the military). He sees them before they're hired and stays with that group of employees for a year." Program graduates are quick to explain the Blackfox Training benefits. "I was given every tool I needed to suc- ceed. If you're willing to sacrifice a little to get to school, you can do it," said Grant. "You get a sense of pride and fulfillment. I could take these certifications and go to Ford or Sony, but it wouldn't give me nearly the satisfaction of being here contributing to the aerospace mis- sion." The program manager says he has gained too. "Being the facilitator of this program is ex- tremely rewarding, to give back to our veteran community," said Toya. "To further their edu- cation with our tuition supports a strong and capable workforce and helps veterans integrate back into the civilian workforce." Today In addition to Lockheed Mar- tin, interested Colorado employer partnerships have grown to include many additional major aerospace companies and their supply chain. There is more demand for gradu- ates of this program than there is Federal Funding available to sup- port it. Tuition for this program is less than $4k per student and has been funded primarily by Federal and State Grants (i.e., WIOA and VWIP). Funding is now limited, particular- ly with veterans as the VWIP is no longer avail- able. Although Blackfox is approved by the VA for use of GI Bill funding, not all veterans qual- ify. Another challenge for veterans is the cost of transportation, food, and lodging during the five weeks. Recruiting: We are marketing more to veteran organizations to help recruit veterans. The pool of veterans in the Colorado Department Labor Employment data base is limited. Transitioning veterans need to be aware of the opportunities. To this point, this program has been funded mostly by State and Federal training grants that have paid for the student's tuition costs. Utiliz- ing these grants have been useful, but not al- ways dependable or available when needed. We are looking for foundations and other organizations to sponsor grants for education as well as private funding in order to expand this program. If you are interested in learning more or participating as a sponsor or investor, please click here to contact Al Dill or call 303- 684-0135 at any time. SMT Allen Dill is the president/CEO of Blackfox Training Institute. THE BLACKFOX ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PROGRAM FOR MILITARY VETERANS Figure 2: Key roles of different stakeholders in Blackfox's training program.