LEXINGTON PARK, Md. – AVIAN, Inc., a government acquisition services company, has partnered with DoD SkillBridge to connect transitioning service members to career job training opportunities.
This summer, AVIAN began its partnership with DoD SkillBridge to help separating service members during their last 180 days gain valuable civilian work experience through industry training, apprenticeships, or internships. According to their website, SkillBridge is built to give service members exposure to real-world job experience to help them transition out of the military.
The program's objectives allow AVIAN and other industry partners to create positions based on their needs. Then, partners can access and utilize highly trained personnel at no cost. Service members participating in the program benefit by gaining experience while receiving military compensation and benefits.
“AVIAN was founded by a number of retired military service members, and our company’s purpose to take care of each other extends to those who are continuing to provide service to our great nation,” said Jeff Sherman, chief operating officer and founder of AVIAN. “While it would be nice for a SkillBridge participant to join AVIAN, our objective is to assist them in their employment transition, regardless of whether they become a member of our family of AVIAN employee-owners or not. This is just a small way for AVIAN to pay it forward to those who have sacrificed for our freedom.”
Both AVIAN and program participants have seen success in the SkillBridge program. Dan Lucarell, an AVIAN program manager supporting the Naval Surface Warfare Center – Panama City Division, recently helped to create a position for a separating service member and found the benefit of implementing the program.
“AVIAN went through a thorough vetting process to partner with SkillBridge,” Lucarell said. "There was a process for providing an internship for a service member who maintained a critical skill set that we desired, and a process to open the door to unlimited skill sets. AVIAN is the prime contractor for Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS) with a concentration in Mine Countermeasures (MCM) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). Our prospective intern from SkillBridge will help support and reinforce our current capabilities.”
The future offers possibilities to expand AVIAN’s SkillBridge partnership to include more positions at more locations. AVIAN’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Randy Carr sees SkillBridge as a critical piece towards growing AVIAN’s talent, bridging DoD sectors, and expanding the industry.
“Some may ask the question, ‘why invest time in training an intern that may or may not work for your company?’ I say, ‘why not?’ In a patriotic way, we owe them the chance to continue with a career they enjoy and/or provide them with a new career path,” Lucarell said.
AVIAN joins more 1,000 companies across the country authorized by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense as a SkillBridge organization.
About AVIAN
AVIAN (*ae-v-yin*) is an employee-owned small business, founded in 2005 by retired U.S. Navy Test Pilots, that delivers resourceful, responsive, and reachable solutions to government and commercial clients.
AVIAN provides program, financial, and logistics management; engineering and systems engineering; test and evaluation of manned and unmanned aerial, surface, and subsurface systems; workforce development and training; communication strategy and graphic design.
AVIAN has consistently grown over the past 16 years and has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies in America for 10 consecutive years, as well as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work. AVIAN has over 300 employees serving more than 80 clients in 13 states with annual revenues exceeding $50 million.
Its headquarters is in Lexington Park, Maryland with employees located across the country in support of organizations including NAVAIR; NAVSEA, the Office of Naval Research; and the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command.
