Grantee:                          State of Vermont

(Vermont Human Resources Investment Council)

Grant Amount:                 $2,658,055

Contact:                          Bill Cormony                         Greg Vorheis

Telephone:                            (802) 828-4355                               (802) 828-4343                        

Duration:                         November 15, 2000 - November 14, 2003 (36 months) - Completed

Population served:           65 incumbent and unemployed workers for high tech training and 148 nurses for operating room and critical care specialties.

Geographic Area Served:  State of Vermont

Targeted Industries/

Jobs/Skills:                      Health care, specifically acute shortage of skilled operating room and critical care nurses, and high tech occupations.

Uniqueness of Proposal:     Two unique employer-led partnerships will address the two skills shortages.  1) High Tech - Brings together employers who share common occupations within their industries and will share training costs, help develop curricula, and share knowledge and expertise partnering with Vermont Technical College and others.  2) Health Care - largest training effort among health care providers to date.  Training will be provided at the sixteen hospitals and will also be linked with the University of Vermonts School of Nursing.

Partnerships:                        HRIC membership, organized labor, community-based organizations, government, four colleges, all sixteen Vermont hospitals, and high tech industries, specifically IBM, Verizon, General Dynamics, BF Goodrich Aerospace, GW Plastics, Husky Injection Molding, and NewsBank.

THE NEED:                             The availability of operating room and critical care nurses as well as area workers with higher level technical skills falls short of the demand for them, threatening the continued viability of these hospitals and businesses, which must resort to imported H1B workers

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PROJECT:

The partnerships, which should lead to permanent training partnerships in coordination with the State one-stop career resources centers, will employ a mix of on-the-job training, on-site instruction, and classroom attendance over a two-year period.  Both partnerships will lead to measurable outcomes for both the workers and the participating employers.