BRATTLEBORO — We at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) recently convened a group of Windham County region manufacturers for the first-ever Southern Vermont Business Roundtable.
The roundtable meetings are divided into industry specific working groups, and designed to support workforce needs, as well as identify any existing programs and resources that will help recruit, train, or retain new and incumbent workforce.
The roundtable discussion focused on both the short and long-term workforce development needs of manufacturers in the region. The Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) organization conducted the region's first ever Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) in 2012.
This process helped reveal the need to increase the size and quality of the workforce and has been a priority focus of the BDCC and SeVEDS- led initiatives for regional economic development and planning activities ever since.
At the meeting, attendees were oriented to the workforce development programming the BDCC and SeVEDS have established in collaboration with the secondary and post-secondary education system within Windham Region, including the Fast Tracks to Success High School Program, Six College Collaborative Internship Program, and Southern Vermont Young Professionals Program.
In addition to these long-term workforce development programs, the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation has partnered with Community College of Vermont to share information about their Certified Production Technician credential. The 28-week course, funded by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program through the U.S. Department of Labor, is designed to up-skill incumbent or trade adjusted workers looking to enter the manufacturing industry.
Business and Community Outreach Manager Michael Keogh presented the unique and effective delivery model to Roundtable attendees.
“We have the right program, the right partners, and the right timing to make a significant impact on increasing Vermont's pool of trained, qualified, and industry certified production workers. Through our collaboration with local partners statewide, we can recruit, train, certify, and deliver highly qualified production workers to support the growth in the industry,” he said.
Employers in attendance were impressed with the variety of resources that we brought to the table with our partners.
John Hanley, chief financial officer at G.S. Precision in Brattleboro, said that “we were very impressed by the practical and useful programs that BDCC have organized to assist area businesses, in particular the Certified Production Technician program through the Community College of Vermont. These responses to our workforce development needs are right on target.”
Our executive director, Adam Grinold, said he is optimistic about the outcomes of the meeting, and anticipates a high level of employer engagement in the future.
“Much of our initial workforce development initiatives have focused on developing long-term, predictable programs. As our program matures, we are now turning toward short and midrange tools to address the immediate needs of the regional employers,” Grinold said.