Resource Guide for Chittenden County Businesses - Employment & Training Programs

Twelve programs are offered at BTC, including Auto Body Repair, Automotive Science and Technology, Aviation Technology, Computer Systems, Criminal Justice, Culinary/Professional Foods, Design and Illustration, Electronic Recording Arts, Human Services/Early Childhood Education, Medical and Sports Sciences, Principles of Engineering, Architecture and Construction and Welding/Metal Fabrication. Students acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to become productive members of the workforce and to go on to further education and training.

A full range of services is provided at BTC. Students are able to take advantage of dual enrollment programs with Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College enabling them to earn transcripted college credits. Students also have the opportunity to be placed in cooperative job settings and to participate in internships so they can experience the workplace, get high school credit and earn a wage. Students have been placed in all the major manufacturing companies and numerous small businesses within commuting distance of BTC. In addition, college and career exploration is an important part of each program. Support services are in place for those students needing additional assistance.

Step Up for Women
We piloted Step Up in 1985 to train women for non-traditional employment opportunities that offer a true path to economic self-sufficiency. In over sixteen years of continuous programming, over 85% of participants have found employment – primarily in the skilled trades. Cited as a national model job training program, Step Up has been replicated in cities throughout the United States.

Each Step Up “semester” spans nine weeks and engages participants in an intensive series of activities to meet the following goals:
• Building physical strength through weight and cardiovascular training.
• Building self-confidence.
• Developing entry-level technical skills specific to several trades.
• Developing skills and attitudes that are critical to success in work in its many forms.

Graduates go on to pursue successful careers as carpenters, automotive technicians, electricians, welders, plumbers, controls technicians, heavy equipment operators, and sheet metal fabricators.

Step IT Up
Step IT Up is a joint project of Northern New England Tradeswomen and CyberSkills/Vermont, which brings significant experience in accessible information technology training that leads directly to jobs. Each session of Step IT Up prepares 8-10 adult women of limited financial means for entry-level jobs in information technology (IT) careers in which women are persistently under-represented, that pay a livable wage and that offer significant opportunities for professional advancement. The program is modeled on Step Up for Women. Step IT Up consists of two main components: computer instruction, delivered by CyberSkills/Vermont, and Women’s Resources, the job-readiness element crucial to the success of the program, provided by NNETW. The program offers each participant 220 hours of instruction.

WomenBuild
WomenBuild consists of two full-time carpentry crews led by master level carpenters and offers paid employment to women who seek intensive training and experience in building, renovation and construction.

Since 1994, WomenBuild participants have built or rehabilitated homes for low- to moderate-income families, renovated nonprofit offices, constructed bus shelters throughout Chittenden County, built garages, decks and additions, replaced siding, and more. Program partners include the Burlington and Rutland Community Land Trust, the Vermont Department of Employment and Training, the Vermont Agency of Human Services, and private funders.

From a short-term, project-driven effort, WomenBuild has evolved into a year-round, self-sustaining program. Each crew includes two slots for carpentry apprenticeships registered with the State. Crew members are also able to participate in weekly theoretical instruction.

Training is available in four ReCycle North Departments:
Customer Service/Retail Mgt - Teaches the essentials of customer service: communication, problem solving, negotiating and time management, as well as leadership and supervision skills for management positions.
Major Appliance Repair - Teaches all aspects of diagnosing, repairing and maintaining major appliances. All graduates receive Class I refrigeration certification and many choose to pursue natural and LP gas certification as well.
Computer Systems Technology - Teaches the diagnostic skills needed to repair computers, printers and other electronic equipment. Setting up and maintaining networks is available as a supplemental training.
Office Administration - Teaches skills needed to succeed in today’s office environment. Includes Microsoft Office as well as time & task management, cash management in a support position, and dispatch operations.

Services available to individuals and Vermont businesses include high school transition planning, identification of career interests, job skills and learning styles, assessment of individual business needs, developing interviewing skills, designing resumes, job accommodation and modification, and ongoing consultation to employers and their employees.

Programs include:
• Adult Essential Skills (AES) and Literacy (Reading, Writing, Math)
• English for Speakers of Other Languages classes (ESOL)
• General Educational Development (GED)/ Vermont Adult Diploma Program
• FUTURES & Getting Ready to Work, career and life planning workshops for PATH clients
• Bridge to College – In conjunction with CCV

Safety & Skills Offerings include:
Beginner to Advanced Commercial Carpentry, OSHA Construction Competency, Heavy Equipment Operation, Blueprint Reading, Emergency Management, Electrical Safety, Soil Mechanics, MSHA Refresher, Construction Soft Skills (19+ Offerings).

AGC Supervisory Training:
(12 Step Course) A professional development program designed to build future construction leaders. Each course is continually updated for its market and always field-tested on real-life jobs.

AGCVT Construction Career Goals:

• Increase awareness of AGCVT Member Companies as a career destination for the future workforce.
• Increase the amount of employees entering and advancing in our industry’s workforce.
• Provide a greater pool of potential workers to the industry’s future workforce.
• Raise awareness of the industry’s careers amongst teachers, parents, and counselors to increase the likelihood they promote such careers to students and/or support students’ decisions to pursue such a career.

5 Green Mountain Drive
PO Box 488
Montpelier, VT 05601

Vermont Medical Transcription Education
Consortium Program (MTEC)
The Vermont MTEC Program provides a free 8-month education and training for medical transcription to unemployed and underemployed Vermonters. Successful graduates are offered full-time, work-at-home positions.

Vermont Information Technology Apprenticeship
Readiness Program (ITAR)
The Vermont ITAR Program provides Vermonters with the opportunity to be educated and mentored in the field of software programmer/analyst careers. Free 8-week education sessions prepare students to participate in paid apprenticeship positions with sponsoring employers.

The Vermont HITEC program models are applicable to information technology careers and companies.

VRRP provides a wide range of services to refugees including case management, cash assistance, employment, English as a Second Language training, refugee mental health and social adjustment services, interpreter and translator referral services and community education programs, through the following programs:

• Reception and Placement Services (R&P)
• Project PROGRESS (Providing Refugees Opportunities Gained through Resources for Economic and Social Self-sufficiency)
• Project HEAL (Healthy Emotional Adjustment to Living)
• Vermont Interpreting and Translating Services (VITS)

Contact our offices in Colchester and /or Barre if you are:

• An employer interested in providing job opportunities to refugees and asylees
• A landlord with housing available
• A volunteer

Phone:  (802) 655-1963
Fax:     (802) 655-4020

Phone:  (802) 479-7547
Fax:  (802) 479-7548

Phone:  (802) 655-1706 or 655-1963
Fax:  (802) 655-4020
Email:  vits@uscrivt.org

• career, college, and financial aid information and counseling
• state grants for full-time, part-time, and non-degree study
• administration of, or information about, dozens of scholarships available to Vermont students
• low-interest federal education loans for students and parents, as well as supplemental financing and debt management counseling
• summer employment programs for eligible students
• the Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan, Vermont's "529 plan"

While most of VSAC’s 370 employees work at the agency’s offices in Winooski, outreach counselors work from their homes to serve both young students and adult learners.

Visit the VSAC Resource Center or log on to www.vsac.org to browse the wealth of materials available from VSAC on careers, education programs, financial aid, human and professional development and more. Materials may be borrowed directly at the Resource Center or through inter-library loan at public libraries throughout the state.

Supported Employment
Supported Employment has given Vermonters with severe disabilities the opportunity to be employed in real jobs for competitive wages. Supported employment funds direct on and off-site support for people with severe disabilities in real, competitive work. In Vermont, the overwhelming majority of people receiving employment supports through community agencies are supported in real jobs, for competitive wages, in their own communities.