The Batavia-based Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will again be getting funds from the United States Department of Energy for its job retention program for U.S. military veterans, the lab announced recently.
Fermilab will be receiving $8 million from the Department of Energy’s Office of High Energy Physics for 2026 to 2030, according to a news release from Fermilab on Dec. 17, a considerable increase from the $2.35 million it was awarded for fiscal years 2022 to 2025.
The funds will go toward Fermilab’s Veteran Applied Laboratory Occupational Retraining, or VALOR, program, which provides training and career opportunities to veterans at the start of their civilian careers, according to the news release. The program includes both hands-on training and full-time technical career placement and security at the lab.
“The cutting-edge training and education veterans receive during their service along with their commitment to teamwork is a great transition to technical positions at the national labs,” Gina Rameika, the Department of Energy’s Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics, said in the news release.
The VALOR program, launched in 2022, expanded the lab’s VetTech internship program, which was initiated in 2016, per the news release. The lab says that the program aims to “(leverage) veterans’ advanced technical skills and leadership” and address “critical workforce challenges.”
It’s comprised of four different programs, according to Fermilab’s website. There’s an internship for Illinois high school students and recent graduates in the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, or JROTC, program; an apprenticeship program for ROTC physics undergraduate students; a 10-week training and career program for military veterans looking to build their technical and computing career options; and a six-month apprenticeship program for veterans at the beginning of their civilian careers.
Military veterans can specialize in a variety of areas, the news release noted, like fabricating, assembling, testing and repairing electronic or mechanical equipment, systems, devices and databases. They can also work in information technology, procurement or in environmental, safety and health, the release said.
In 2022, Fermilab began reaching out to local high school ROTC cadets to promote and amplify its learning and career opportunities at the lab, the release noted.
Anthony Ramirez, who currently works as a mechanical technician in the Accelerator Target Systems Division at Fermilab, said the VALOR program “helped (him) grow both professionally and personally.”
“Coming from an NJROTC background at East Aurora High School, I value structure, discipline and teamwork,” Ramirez said in the news release. “These qualities aligned well with Fermilab’s collaborative environment. I gained hands-on technical experience, mentorship and a clear direction for my future in STEM.”
Ramirez is currently attending Waubonsee Community College with the goal of becoming a mechanical engineer, the release said.
Fermilab Director of Workforce Pathways and Partnerships Sandra Charles also pointed to the lab’s history of retaining individuals from the program as full-time employees.
“From 2022 to 2025, we hired 22 participants of the VALOR program,” Charles said in the release. “We are grateful to DOE for their continued support of this important program and look forward to expanding the success of VALOR in the coming years.”
Individuals looking for more information on the program can go to https://internships.fnal.gov/valor/ or apply at https://fermilab.jobs/.