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Resource Guide for Chittenden County Businesses - Employment & Training Programs

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Burlington Technical Center
Description: The Burlington Technical Center (BTC) is located in Burlington, Vermont in Chittenden County. BTC serves high school juniors and seniors and adults by offering half-day technical programs that are designed to be completed in two years. Sending schools are within a 30-mile radius of BTC with Burlington High School and BTC sharing a campus. Students are bused to BTC from their sending schools, including Bellows Free Academy, Champlain Valley Union High School, Colchester High School, Essex High School, Milton High School, Mt. Mansfield Union High School, Rice Memorial High School, South Burlington High School and Winooski High School.

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.

Address: 52 Institute Road
Burlington, VT 05408
Phone: (802) 864-8431
Fax: (802) 864-8521
Contact Name: Sandy Simonds
Center for Technology at Essex
Description: The Center for Technology, Essex offers technical training programs for high school students and adults with and without diplomas. These programs meet rigorous state academic standards as well as industry certification standards. They also include career exploration, preparation, and technological literacy in a respectful learning environment. Sample classes include:
• Certified Welding Classes
• Natural Gas Certification and Recertification Courses
• ASE Certification Automotive Classes
• ADA Accredited Dental Assisting Program
• Health Information Management Certification
• Construction Technology
• Professional Foods
• Advanced Cosmetology Classes
• Refrigerant Certification
• CAD Courses
• Facilities Operations Courses
Address: 3 Educational Drive
Essex Junction, VT 05452
Phone: (802) 879-5558 or (802) 879-5559
Fax: (802) 879-5593
Contact Name: Joan Irwin (H.S. student) or Linda Whitaker (Skill Tech)
Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center (CVAHEC)
Description: Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center supports the recruitment, retention and continuing education of health professionals in underserved areas; assesses community needs, and designs relevant educational opportunities. CVAHEC facilitates the creation of a vibrant network of students, health professionals, and community members.
Address: 152 Fairfield Street
St. Albans, VT 05478
Phone: (802) 527-1474
Fax: (802) 527-1632
Email: cvahec@cvahec.org 
Champlain Community Services (CCS)
Description: Founded in 1967, CVS provides job training and employment opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities through a Supported Employment Program. Our Program helps people with a variety of challenges seek, train for, achieve, and maintain competitive jobs in their communities. Supported Employment candidates participate in a vocational assessment to determine interests, skills and their need for one-to-one support at the job site.
Address: 512 Troy Avenue
Colchester, VT 05446
Phone: (802) 655-0511
Fax: (802) 655-5207
Contact Name: Kelly Homiller, Executive Director
Child Care Resource (CCR)
Description: Child Care Resource offers training to individuals over 18 years old seeking to enter the child care profession and provides assistance to parents and legal guardians in finding and paying for childcare. CCR also assists employers in helping their employees deal with child and dependent care issues.
Address: 181 Commerce Street
Williston, VT 05495
Phone: (802) 863-3367 or (800) 339-3367
Fax: (802) 864-4202
Email: info@childcareresource.org
The Good News Garage
Description: The Good News Garage offers aspiring mechanics a unique training opportunity: a six-month course designed to prepare them for entry-level job placement via apprentice-style training. The Good News Garage reconditions donated cars and makes them available to low-income individuals who can’t otherwise afford reliable transportation.
Address: 331 North Winooski Avenue
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: (802) 864-3667 or 1-877-448-3288
Website: www.goodnewsgarage.org
Contact Name: Michael Muzzy, Operations & Program Director
Northern New England Tradeswomen (NNETW)
Description: Northern New England Tradeswomen (NNETW)
Northern New England Tradeswomen (NNETW) trains educates, supports, and advocates for girls and  women interested in exploring or pursuing employment in the trades or technical fields. Its programs include Step Up for Women, Step IT Up, and WomenBuild.

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.

Address: 51 Park Street
Essex, VT 05452
Phone: (802) 878-0004
Fax: (802) 878-0050
Email: info@vtworksforwomen.org
Contact Name: Miriam Balsey, Program Coordinator
ReCycle North 
Description: ReCycle North’s Apprentice-style Training Program
ReCycle North’s training programs serve a diverse range of individuals who need new skills and an opportunity to succeed. ReCycle North works closely with local agencies and the trainees themselves to ensure that individual needs are accommodated while high standards are maintained. The six-month, apprentice-style training program serves those who are ready to work but need the skills and employer-recognized credentials for their desired career.

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.

Address: 266 Pine Street
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: (802) 658-4143, x 26
Contact Name: Debbie Shelden, Training & HR Director
   
ReCycle North YouthBuild
Description: ReCycle North’s YouthBuild program serves young men and women, ages 16-24, who have not completed high school and have an interest in learning construction skills. The program provides classroom instruction to help participants earn their high school diploma in collaboration with Vermont Adult Learning and area high schools using hands-on learning to develop vocational and leadership skills. Student partners successfully complete a mental toughening curriculum to demonstrate their desire and ability to succeed. This preparation allows the class to become a team, introduces prospective partners to the standards that are required in the YouthBuild program. It reacquaints students with daily routines and successful work management. Partners who successfully complete this component are invited to enroll in YouthBuild. Partners perform community service projects such as building wheel chair ramps to cooking meals at the Ronald McDonald House to building one unit of affordable housing each year.
Address: 266 Pine Street
Burlington, VT 05401

Phone: (802) 658-4143, x 39
Contact Name: Andrew Jope, YouthBuild Director
Transition II, Inc. 
Description: Transition II, Inc. offers competitive job placement and consulting services to individuals with disabilities, and by doing so, has provided the Vermont business community with quality employees for over 20 years. The organization matches business needs with the skills and interests of individuals with disabilities, providing support and consultation for a successful working relationship.

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.

Address: 346 Shelburne Road
Burlington, VT 05401

Phone: (802) 846-7281
Fax: (802) 846-7282
Contact Name: Kara Artus, Executive Director
Vermont Adult Learning
Description: Vermont Adult Learning is a private nonprofit and the largest provider of adult education and essential skills programs in the state. We offer a number of free programs to provide under-educated adults, age 16 and older, the opportunity to become fully participating workers, parents, and citizens.

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

Address: Fort Ethan Allen
462 Hegeman Avenue
Colchester, VT 05446
Phone: (802) 846-7245
Fax: (802) 846-7228
Email: info@vtadultlearning.org
Vermont Associates for Training and Development
Description: Founded in 1983, Vermont Associates for Training and Development, Inc. has been successfully meeting the employment and training needs of the mature worker in 12 locations statewide through a variety of programs. Vermont Associates specializes in developing training opportunities that meet the employment & training needs of the individual. Vermont Associates provides career counseling, resume preparation, interviewing techniques, training opportunities, career credentialing, computer training, and job hunting workshops. Persons participating in the program receive a training stipend and services at no cost.
Address: 132 North Main Street
PO Box 107
St. Albans, VT 05478
Phone: (800) 439-3307, (802) 524-3200
Fax: (802) 524-9933
Vermont Association of Business, Industry & Rehabilitation (VABIR)
Description: The Vermont Association of Business, Industry and Rehabilitation (VABIR) is dedicated to matching job seekers with disabilities and employers within our community. With offices in various locations throughout Vermont, VABIR provides free employment and consultation services to workers with disabilities and interested businesses.
Address: 75 Talcott Road
Williston, VT 05495
Phone: (802) 878-1107
Fax: (802) 288-9697
Email: vabired@aol.com 
Contact Name: Christine McCarthy
Associated General Contractors of Vermont (AGCVT)
Description: AGCVT offers workforce training as a response to the need for a highly trained workforce for a growing competitive construction industry in Vermont. With a 10,000 square foot facility filled with equipment and safety apparatus, it is the most unusual training space in New England. Participants can enroll in training that will provide them with the necessary skill set to enter into the construction industry. Funding through the federal and state levels as well as local and national training partners make this program successful.

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.

Address: 148 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05601
Phone: (802) 223-2374
Fax: (802) 223-1809
Email: info@agcvt.org
Contact Name: Beth Hulbert
Vermont Department of Labor
Description: The Department of Labor provides the funding for skills training through a combination of on-the-job training and related classroom instruction. Employers can participate in a variety of apprenticeship programs that train workers. The employer pays the salary of the trainee and then VT DOL  reimburses the employer for the training for that individual.
Address: 63 Pearl Street
Burlington, VT 05401

5 Green Mountain Drive
PO Box 488
Montpelier, VT 05601

Phone: (802) 863-7676
Fax: (802) 863-7655
Vermont Healthcare Information Technology Education Center, Inc. (VERMONT HITEC)
Description: The Vermont Healthcare Information Technology Education Center (HITEC) is a non-profit corporation that educates Vermonters in the field of healthcare information technology. Programs are designed to provide successful graduates with guaranteed job offers. Vermont HITEC currently offers two programs: the Vermont Medical Transcription Education Consortium Program (MTEC) and the Vermont Information Technology Apprenticeship Readiness Program (ITAR).

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.

Address: 300 Interstate Corporate Center
P.O. Box 1548
Williston, VT 05495
Phone: (802) 872-0660
Fax: (802) 872-0661
Contact Name: Julie A. Davis, Executive Director
Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program (VRRP)
Description: Established to provide a local response to the global refugee crisis, the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program (VRRP) has helped thousands of refugees and asylees resettle in Vermont. VRRP is the only refugee resettlement agency in Vermont and is a field office of Immigration and Refugee Services of America (IRSA), the largest non-sectarian voluntary agency in the United States.

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

Chittenden County Address: 462 Hegeman Avenue, Suite 101
Colchester, VT 05446

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

Washington County Address: 15 Cottage Street
Barre, VT 05641

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

Email: vrrp@vrrp.org 
VITS: 462 Hegeman Avenue, Suite 101
Colchester, VT 05446

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

Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC)
Description: The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) is a public, nonprofit corporation created by the Legislature in 1965 to provide Vermonters with the information and financing they need to pursue education or training beyond high school. VSAC is unusual among agencies of its kind because it provides “one-stop” delivery of higher education services, including:
  • 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.

Address: 10 East Allen Street
PO Box 2000
Winooski, VT 05404
Phone: (802) 655-9602
1-800-642-3177
Fax: (802) 654-3765
Email: info@vsac.org
Vocational Rehabilitation
Description: Vocational Rehabilitation, a division of the Vermont Department of Aging and Disabilities, helps Vermonters with disabilities to be employed and to live successfully in their communities. They offer a broad range of services including career exploration, problem-solving, networking resources, education and training, transportation assistance, worksite accommodation, adaptive equipment, transition services, and job placement. There is also funding available to help clients start and enhance their businesses.

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.

Address: 108 Cherry Street, Suite 201
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: (802) 863-7500
Contact Name: Kathy Mason

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Page last updated July 06, 2009

 

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