Manufacturing joins Construction and Health Care as Economic Priority Sectors

Vermont Advanced Manufacturers connected in April on the campus of Vermont Technical College to form the VTPM Vermont Manufacturing Collaborative. This new collective impact collaborative is the third launched since April 2017. In concert with regional convening partners from around the state, 21 manufacturing employers met to join forces in the work of developing a pipeline of skilled talent.

The Manufacturing Collaborative is endorsed by industry champion Paul Millman, CEO of Chroma Technology, also a board member of Vermont Business Roundtable. Said Millman, “Even for some companies like mine, which have traditionally not had a problem in attracting quality talent, the pressure is certainly felt as we attempt to expand. Vermont doesn’t have large quantities of the kind of talent we need. This new Manufacturing Collaborative will benefit Vermont companies in many ways.”

The employer collaborative is diverse in size and geography, with businesses from Newport to Bennington all expressing their challenges in attracting talent to grow. With the help of regional partners, “neutral conveners”, from Addison County Economic Development Corp.; Bennington Industrial Corporation; Brattleboro Development Credit Corp; Franklin-Grand Isle Workforce Investment Board; Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce; and Northern Vermont Development Association, the new collaborative will grow larger and more diverse as the program expands.

Over the next six months, members of the collaborative will determine the focus for talent needs and engage in demand planning to identify and forecast openings for its most critical jobs. This actionable data set of talent requirements will be the foundation for alignment between employers and educators/training providers. The goal of the Vermont Talent Pipeline includes providing Vermont’s labor market with the education, employability skills and competencies to be effective contributors within the local economy.

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Vermont Talent Pipeline Management (VTPM) project is a statewide, employer-led, demand-driven approach that organizes employer collaboratives to address an industry’s most critical workforce needs by applying talent supply chain strategies and practices. The TPM model was developed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. VTPM is headquartered within the Vermont Business Roundtable.