Vermont workers have long had a reputation for hard work, craftsmanship, and reliability.
Craftsmanship and a strong work ethic run deep in the Vermont culture and in our highly educated workforce. Vermont consistently ranks high for education quality and with 40,000 students attending the state’s 22 well-regarded colleges and universities each year, our employers have a steady stream of young talent on their doorsteps.
Not only does the state provide funding for work-based training programs, our colleges and universities are considered leaders in the nation in curricula that are increasingly relevant to growth businesses. Among those programs that have garnered national attention are:
- gaming and coding at Champlain College;
- languages at Middlebury College;
- security and cyber security at Norwich University;
- environmental law at Vermont Law School; and
- food systems, agriculture, nutrition, and medical at the University of Vermont.
Vermont’s ongoing commitment to innovation was recognized in 2016 when the City of Burlington was named a White House TechHire community. As reported by the local US Ignite initiative, BTV Ignite, Burlington’s public-private collaborative will train and place 75 tech workers in 2016 and seek to train and place 400 tech workers through 2020.
Creating a pipeline of skilled talent, led by employers
Leveraging lessons learned from supply-chain management, Vermont Talent Pipeline Management (VTPM) expands the role of employers in rethinking the development and sourcing of Vermont’s future workforce. Industry collaborative pilot programs have been launched for construction and healthcare, with a pilot for manufacturing being formed now.
WHY VERMONT?
“The grant dollars we have received from the State of Vermont for training our employees has been an enormous help to our company. The industry in which we work is increasingly competitive and uncertain, and it is critical that our team has the tools and knowledge to do their jobs effectively. The grant dollars help to make that possible!”
Key Demographics
Population | 623,657 |
Labor Force | 348,852 |
Labor Force Participation Rate | 66.3% |
Unemployment Rate | 2.8% |
Median Household Income | $57,667 |
Mean Annual Wage | $48,840 |
Median Age | 42.6 |
High School Graduate or Higher (population 25+ years) | 92% |
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (population 25+ years) | 36.2% |