 Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here. Since my first day in office, I've been talking about the demographic challenges we face and the impact on our workforce. Unfortunately, this issue didn't get the attention it deserved, and I didn't get the help I needed pre-pandemic. But since the pandemic, most legislators now seem to agree this needs to be a primary focus. Almost every proposal I made to the legislature last session had workforce in mind because it's all connected. To track more workers, you need more housing. To build more housing, you need water, sewer, and storm water infrastructure. To give families a reason to stay or move to Vermont, you need broadband, childcare, and thriving communities. And to lower costs and protect the environment, we need to weatherize our homes and businesses with more insulation, better windows, and more efficient heating and cooling systems. But to get all this work done and fill the jobs we have, we simply need more people. Right now, there are over 20,000 jobs available in the state with a little over 1,500 people on unemployment. So today, we're here to talk about these great careers. We're joined by the Department of Labor and the McClure Foundation, who partnered to create a list of Vermont's most promising jobs, which includes more than 50 lucrative careers, paying good wages available over the next decade. Again, we have the jobs right now we need to fill. So it's important we make sure our kids know all the options available to them and have access to the training or education needed to help them accomplish it. We also need to continue our work to make Vermont more affordable, so that people looking to come here to take these good jobs aren't discouraged from doing so because of the cost of living. That's what my team is so focused on, and we're grateful to our partners like McClure, who are working hard to do their part, helping people put the jobs on the right path or the students and kids on the right path. Because if you want to be an electrician, a plumber, carpenter, auto technician, equipment operator or welder, there's a high-paying job waiting for you right now. If you want to be a nurse, physician's assistants or a dental assistant or dental hygienist, there's a good job here for you. If you want to be a coder, a software engineer or a cybersecurity specialist, there's a lucrative career available. Mr. Harrington and Carolyn Weir, the Executive Director of the McClure Foundation, will go into more details about their opportunities and all the opportunities we have available. And I want to thank them for their work to help get Vermonters employed in the careers that are right for them. So with that, I'll turn it over to Commissioner Harrington. Thank you, Governor, and good afternoon, everyone. I and the department are happy to be here in partnership with the McClure Foundation today to highlight the 2023-2024 Most Promising Jobs brochure, a publication that highlights Vermont's top jobs based on salary and demand for workers. It's also exciting to see the data come to life and be able to present some of the fantastic career opportunities here in Vermont. Further proof that there are really great job opportunities in every town and community across the state. While this publication highlights in-demand jobs and careers based on long-term projections, we know that there are roughly 20,000 job openings across the state right now. Nearly 15,000 of those can be found in the state's own job board at vermontjoblink.com. While Vermont is not the only state experiencing a labor force drought, we are one of the only states tackling the larger issues that the Governor mentioned that are driving our country's shrinking workforce. Here in Vermont, the Governor has highlighted time and time again that in order to grow our labor force, we must prioritize affordability, housing, education, safety, and meaningful employment, along with whatever else is needed to ensure Vermont is a state of choice when deciding where to live, work, and raise a family. Additionally, we must align our training programs to inspire young Vermonters and those looking to start a new career in order to meet the needs of our employers who are desperately looking for talent so that they can continue to innovate and grow. That is where the Department of Labor comes in. We work every day to connect job seekers with the hundreds of employers looking for skilled workers. We know that finding a new job can be a job on its own at times, which can also be incredibly overwhelming. So whether you need help writing a resume, want to enroll in a training program to earn a credential, become an apprentice, or just need some support connecting with employers, our team is ready to help in that journey. Our field staff can match you with a position that fits your interests, abilities, experience, or other needs, like scheduling childcare or finding reliable transportation. And what better place to start than with the Vermont's most promising jobs brochure. But this brochure is not just a brochure. It is a roadmap to Vermont's future. Highlighted in this publication of Vermont's most in-demand occupations both now and over the coming years. It includes registered nurses, fitness trainers, substance use and mental health counselors, diesel mechanics, truck drivers, telecom installers, graphic designers, and paralegals, just to name a few. Not only are these in-demand jobs, but they also offer competitive salaries and room for growth and advancement. Additionally, many of these employers already have quality training programs available to new hires to ensure that they not only have the technical skills, but also understand the business process and culture of that specific employer. With workforce expansion being the governor's top priority, we continue our effort to promote the promising career opportunities that exist in Vermont and link Vermont employers with talent. Over the coming weeks, the Department of Labor in collaboration with our local partners will be holding in-person job fairs and hiring events in Enesburg, St. Albans, Berlin, and Colchester, as well as an inaugural New England regional job fair, which is a virtual event held in collaboration with other New England states. So if you're an employer looking for talent and you are not registered for one of these events, you should do so today by visiting labor.vermont.gov. Today's event and this publication highlight how the state through strategic partnerships can enhance the type of quality data and information that can be provided to the public, so that they can make informed decisions. And with National Apprenticeship Week happening in November, Vermont's most promising jobs is well-timed as many of the apprenticeship programs offered in Vermont have a direct link to these in-demand jobs we are discussing today, many of which can be offered to job seekers at no additional cost. I'd like to personally thank the Foundation for their continued partnership in this endeavor, which has lasted more than 10 years. This is an invaluable tool in our effort to grow Vermont's workforce. Again, if you're looking to start a new career or explore a new path, or if you're an employer looking for talent, let us help you find your next best job or employee by contacting the Vermont Department of Labor today. With that, I'd like to turn it over to McClure Foundation Executive Director, Carol Weir. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, Governor. At the McClure Foundation, we have long valued the Vermont Department of Labor's jobs projections, and we're thrilled to once again join Governor Scott and the Department in announcing Vermont's most promising jobs. This partnership is all about promoting the diversity of meaningful work experiences here in Vermont and helping support people in accessing these jobs and the education and training that lead to them. In short, that's our mission. As an affiliate of the Vermont Community Foundation, we help close opportunity gaps here in Vermont by building connections to careers and by investing in education and training systems in ways that drive equity and resilience for individuals, for families, and for communities. What thrills me about this jobs list is that there really is something for everyone. These jobs give families what they need, a sufficient, reliable paycheck, meaningful work, connection to community, but it also gives Vermont what Vermont needs. Take the four promising jobs associated with the greatest number of projected openings over the next 10 years. We need nurses who take care of us. We need carpenters who build our houses. We need bookkeepers who help keep our small businesses going. And we need teachers who help young people gain skills and discover their own career interests. Teaching, including at career and technical education centers, is the promising job associated with the greatest number of projected openings over the next 10 years. And I think it's a profession that helps make other professions possible, and I think it's a profession that helps prepare young people for work as adults, but because when our schools are open, our economy is open. Governor Scott and the commissioner have said up here at the podium today that workforce development is related to so many issues in front of Vermont communities, including housing. I want to thank Governor Scott and his administration for prioritizing those issues, and in particular for investing specifically in critical occupations, and in the education and training providers that lead to them. Those investments during the pandemic, along with some of our own at the McClure Foundation, affirmed another really important lesson that when college and career training is guaranteed to be affordable for monitors in role. We saw that clearly in the data, and that's important because these promising jobs typically require some form of education or training after high school. That could be on-the-job training. It could be short-term credential, like a certificate. It could be a department of labor. It could be an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, or even beyond. In a state where relatively few young people are choosing education and training immediately after high school, the McClure Foundation and Community Foundation are committed to making those pathways to promising jobs more visible, more accessible, and more affordable. We'll do that through our ongoing grant-making, which is centered at the Community College of Vermont and elsewhere, and by driving to high schools around the state and sharing this information and inviting ideas about how many grants from us can help communities promote or build on this content, put it in the hands of students and job seekers. Since the first edition of this list was released eight years ago, we've received consistent feedback that this concise resource, despite its simplicity or maybe because of its simplicity, is a really valuable conversation starter. It's helping spark hope about what's out there and what's possible. So I hope you'll share it with your child, your neighbor, your friend, anyone who's thinking about the role of work in life. We will mail as many free copies as you can put to use. With that, I'll pass it along to Matt Berowitz from the Vermont Department of Labor. Thank you, Governor. Thank you, Commissioner. And thank you, Caroline. Hard to believe we've been doing this for nearly a decade. This is the fifth edition. In that spirit, I'd really like to thank the McClure Foundation for their outstanding partnership since the start. They recognize the value of labor market data and understand this information needs to be shared widely. Simply put, information is power. From the beginning, this brochure was always about starting a conversation under the assumption that if we can get people talking about education and career opportunities, we can get people thinking about their situation and how best to move forward. There are many job opportunities across the state and this brochure is just some, and that's an important takeaway, that there are more opportunities in Vermont than are what are highlighted here. In partnership with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Employment and Training Administration, the Economic and Labor Market Information Division within the Vermont Department of Labor produces wage data for Vermont on over 600 occupations. We produce occupational projections on over 500 occupations in the state of Vermont. And numerous other data series, including employment by industry just to name a few, but that's not why we're here today. We're here to focus on this brochure and this brochure captures an all-star team of job opportunities in Vermont. To be included, this occupation has to pay at or above the statewide median wage and be projected to have at least 500 openings over the next decade. The result, a diverse list of jobs to borrow Carolyn's expression, there's truly something in here for everyone. And we hope this will start a lot of conversations, conversations between students and school counselors, job seekers or people who just moved to Vermont and our job center specialists at the Vermont Department of Labor and even conversations between career technical education directors and local business partners. The information is presented in a way to make an individual consider what could work for me. We want people to be curious about what is possible, asking questions, learning about opportunities. This will lead to improved economic outcomes for Vermonters. So thank you again, Governor, for your important work and resource. And with that, I'll turn it back over to the governor. Thank you. Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Carolyn. Thank you, Commissioner. With that, we'll open up to questions. Governor Brown, given the workforce right now and the effort to get people educated or retrained, Vermont State Colleges or Vermont University is reorganizing itself and from what I understand, I think it's 80% of the students at Vermont University are Vermonters and the majority of them after school stay here in the state. How can we get this promoted or what can they do to kind of reach out and also has the legislature gotten that message and will they maybe boost the funding for higher education? It's a little more complicated than that. First of all, we have invested a great deal of money over the last couple of years in higher education in particular with the state college system. But it's a little more complicated than that because if you remember the 631 I talked about six years ago in that three number and that's three fewer kids in our school every single day in K through 12. We find ourselves in a position today where we have 30,000 fewer kids than we did 20 years ago. So when you take that number so now we have 75,000 or so, 75 to 80,000 kids in our school so you take that 90% that used to be 90% where Vermont kids in our state college system there's fewer of them and that's what has to be coming so to speak is we need to bring in more kids to fill those slots in the state colleges or find a more efficient way of doing business and downsizing a bit. It's not as simple as just putting more money into the state colleges and hoping for better results because at the end of the day we still need more people coming to the state. We need to attract more people, more diversity into the state because we just don't have a year to educate until the jobs we have available. The state college system is one of the highest tuition state college systems in the country. How can we fix that? Well again, they are working on that I mean they were charged with that very issue and again we have provided the resources for them to do that reinvent themselves and we'll see what happens if they have a plan let's hope that it works. Is that the biggest cause of unemployment right now just not having enough people in the state? Yeah, I mean when you say problem with unemployment in some respects some governors would say great news. We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country but in this case it's while we do we have it's 2.1% I believe right now one of the lowest in the country that's not necessarily good news because as you heard we have 20,000 jobs available that 2.1% represents about 15 to 1700 people so if you do the math if you took all the people on unemployment now we still have a balance of about 15,000 or maybe a little less fewer jobs that are available right now so again we need more people here to fill those jobs so the employment is our problem the labor force is our problem not the unemployment. Governor maybe this is a question for I'd like to hear maths thinking on this too but I mean have we arrived any sort of decision or do we have any more insight as to where all of the workers went where those 15,000 people went to they retired they aged out it's our demographics we're one of the oldest states in the country when you think about you know it's main in Hampshire Vermont and sometimes we're one sometimes we're two sometimes we're three but it's the three of us that the oldest median age in the country so it's that what I spoke about again that sixth number of the 631 was we were losing six workers out of our workforce every single day due to mainly just aging out of the system so if you're not backfilling that's the three number if you're not backfilling with more people more families more kids and you're going to it's it's just a math issue you're going to have a labor force problem eventually and that's what I was sounding the alarm about then and it's it's here the pandemic exacerbated that but it was going to happen anyhow I don't know how much that you know even looking at it nationally they estimate that two-thirds of the decline across the U.S. labor force is due to demographics strictly related to just how the baby boomers were such a large integral part of economic growth across the U.S. history and the math checks out the leading edge of the baby boomer turned 65 in 2011 that means they turned 75 in 2021 and as a result from that time period for 2011 we've seen a slowly steady decline COVID caused a lot of confusion about what was going on in our labor force and ultimately we think accelerated some retirement decisions or people taking a pause in the labor force but as other states and greater research have come back and more data sets have come available it's just a lot of those narratives of the temporary disruptions associated with COVID have fallen back and it's now it's now retirements it's now where's the future of the U.S. labor force coming from and as the governor said Vermont has been kind of leading the edge with that with a higher than U.S. median age there is a lot of consistency there's a lot of continuity there's a lot of continuity and you know there'll be some additions some subtractions but a lot of times what we're talking about is core messaging on integral parts of the Vermont economy and we think that that provides us comfort in some ways because we want a consistent message getting out there these are important occupations these are the pathways to obtaining them and we want that message to resonate beyond just the publication cycle of this particular brochure so a lot of the messaging is very consistent and tweaks and presentation but the list itself it grows plus or minus depending on the criteria we've had as many as 60 that we've highlighted to as few as like 50 or so but there's a there's always some ones we're always excited to see added and some were surprised to see or unfortunate didn't make it that's just the nature of the numbers game we're just trying to highlight opportunities I'm getting that message out this is probably for labor are you reaching out to say the Department of Education or to middle schools and high schools and getting this publication and sort of being proactive to hey kids take a look at this you may want to start thinking about this in sixth, seventh, eighth grade and pursue it when you get to high school and beyond so that they're not just in that per se college prep thought process if you will 100% we want to make sure people are aware the opportunities in the state that require high school education or some career technical education it is not just a pathway forward for everyone to get a four year degree and I think a lot of people up here could speak more clearly about that but I can say over the last eight years I've gone into numerous schools I've done everything from small presentations to eighth graders one class to parent teacher nights where the auditorium is filled not only with students but teachers and a lot of that again thanks to the McClure Foundation for setting the groundwork and using a lot of outreach and making sure those connections are made and that this information is not just sitting idle 75,000 copies of these brochures are being sent across the state this week they're going to be used in middle school settings, high school settings career and technical education centers with community based groups like mentoring organizations and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation counselors they'll be hopefully in some libraries and some town halls we are connecting with not only students and job seekers themselves but with those who work with them their coaches, their trusted adults their navigators, their wayfinders I think young people are thinking very deeply right now about the roles they want work to play in their adult life and I hope that this information helps expand the sense of what's possible I think a lot of young people want to contribute productively to their community through work and want to be connected to their community through work maybe some folks don't think about bookkeepers and electricians as often paths to self-employment or entrepreneurship or don't think about the fact that graphic designers and accountants can work in nonprofit organizations deeply connected to community issues and missions that they care about so our hope again is that this piece is a conversation starter along those lines I guess the only other question and piece to this is the housing element we want more people to move here we want more people to come into the workforce housing still remains a huge issue with some of the investments that we've made over the past couple of years through the pandemic you've mentioned it's going to take time for that to come online how is that trajectory of the housing coming online along with this 10 year the need of what we're going to be needing in 10 years those two timelines intersect maybe I'm not asking the question I get your point because what comes first is chicken or the house so we thankfully a number of years ago when I first came into office we took out that $37 million housing bond and as you remember we thought that was a pretty big deal then $37 million now it doesn't sound like as much but that leveraged another $200 million private assets so we've been able to put that into place and it's not instantaneous as we've found so we're still we put about 2,000 units into use at this point due to that $37 million housing bond initially and the $200 million of additional assets so we're still seeing the positive effects of that as we speak this other money the $250 million that we're putting into housing as well is going to benefit us as time goes on is it enough? probably not but we can't forget that it's not all government money either if we can provide permitting more streamlined more expeditious permitting as well as private investors to build housing that's what we had before we invested and that will be another area to supplement everything that we're doing so we're hoping that it all work together but it can't come soon enough because we do to attract more people into the state they need decent affordable housing and the reality is we just don't have it all that we need right now but we're working towards that goal certainly it also looks like the Newbury facility for troubled youth is moving forward six beds coming online in the coming years do you see that as meeting the need for the young offender population? it'll only meet a part of our need we will continue to work towards other approaches as well it's not one facility it's going to be multiple facilities throughout the state possibly the Brattle World Retreat will play a role we have the Wyndham Sheriff that might play a role has that facility up and going and there are other initiatives that we're looking at so it's a multi-tiered approach but that one facility won't take care of the whole issue it would be nice if it did but I don't believe it will I understand raised the age because at least for now do you feel comfortable with this facility moving online with the process moving forward do you feel comfortable moving forward with raised the age as the legislature? the raised the age the crux of the issue for me was the expungement of records so expunge versus ceiling and expunge means it goes away forever so you might have a convicted felon who was involved in drug trafficking and so forth will have their record expunge under what they wanted I believe and we talked about keeping the guns out of the hands of felons and so forth people we don't want to have guns this would allow them for instance to buy a gun if the record was expunge I believe the records should be sealed so that we could go back and take a look if we have to so we can continue to have those conversations almost a full month into legalized marijuana any repercussions back to your office as far as how things are going? nothing at this point it seems like the cannabis board has done their due diligence it's probably not happening as quickly as some had hoped I think we are going to have to determine or they're going to have to determine how many they open up in what areas are they going to be criteria is there going to be like a franchise type approach like our liquor stores in control in that way so those are areas I'm sure that they're going to be considering but so far so good in some respects yes I'm related to what this conference was about so you've been asked over and over again during this campaign indeed for your tenure about the fact that you are still a Republican you said the party does not define me you're public about your disagreements with the Trump wing voted for Joe Biden but the Vermont Republican party who's made very clear in this legislative cycle so is the Democratic party the top line goal is are we making or breaking Phil Scott's vetoes in the upcoming session you were at this event in Ferrisburg a picture of you taken alongside Joe Benning with a number of candidates that hold views that you certainly have never espoused you know three of them by my count signed on to this letter asking Mike Pence to overturn the election I spoke to one directly and he said yes I believe the 2020 election was stolen that man is you know running as a Republican in Addison County in a critical seat that's been identified by the party as a must win what I guess I have two questions what should people make of you standing alongside these people for a picture because the Democrats will say he cares more about a veto override than he cares about American democracy I imagine you have a different take First of all I think for Mounters know me they've had six years to get to know me hesitated to express my views much to the chagrin of the Republican party I think if you see any of the polling you can see that I struggle a bit with some of my friends in the Republican party in terms of their support for me in reference to that event on Friday I just think everyone should know should understand what the event was first of all I was over the last number of years as Governor and as Lieutenant Governor Connie Houston who is a former representative here from Addison County from Ferrisburg has been a supporter of mine she's had fundraisers for me she wanted to have another fundraiser she also wanted to have a fundraiser for Joe Benning so when she came down to picking out the date she said how about if we combine these two we'll do the Benning Scott fundraiser at the same time which I've done multiple times over the last number of years so that was what the event was it was a fundraiser for myself and Joe Benning and I went and because I have a lot of respect for Connie she works very hard and she's a very common sense Republican from my standpoint and so I had no idea who was going to be there I was as surprised as maybe anyone to find so many candidates from across the state attending what was a fundraiser I don't most of them don't support me and I don't support them but they were there and as far as the picture goes I get a lot of pictures taken of me as governor that happens many times over a daily basis I think you'll find many of my friends across the aisle I think you'll see in some of their campaign brochures they have pictures of me with them obviously they don't support me I probably don't support them but I have my picture taken with them it's the Vermont kind of way you just do that so when it came to that picture the Benning campaign wanted a picture and I as simple as that a picture doesn't mean support he told me that he believed the 2020 election was stolen at the end of the day until Scott and I are on the same team as you know I don't believe the election was stolen believing the election was stolen should be disqualifying if you're running for office you can't I think we live in a country where you can run for office I don't think there are any real disqualifying issues I don't know of any others I don't mean legally but when you're looking at candidates and deciding what matters to you if they say I don't believe President Biden was duly elected that way to your vote that would sway my support I guess in this case would you have the voters of this district say you know probably used to vote for the Democrat if well I would say that I wouldn't support that candidate which I have said over and over again I mean I I don't know of any other candidates on either side of the aisle I can take a one actually who have had the courage to vote and publicly say they're voting for someone of a different party publicly I have people all the time coming up to me and saying I voted for you am I going to say that publicly but I voted for you but I've said publicly I voted for Biden Dick Mazza Senator Mazza has said he's voting for me I support him he has courage I don't know if I've seen anyone else have the same courage but maybe you have some examples of politicians who I mean no I know plenty of Democrats who voted for me Democrats? Yeah plenty of Democrats tell me that they vote for you poll after poll says that no no candidates specifically have you seen any high ranking officials that have said they support me and are voting for me or have voted for me I did they voted for me yeah I was asking you I mean the question is about election deniers okay I don't support election deniers okay and you hope that election deniers do not win any seats in the legislature next year even if they're in your party no I'm saying I'm not supporting them do you hope they don't win I don't support them I mean the question I'm asking I guess I'm wondering why you're rephrasing it that way because I only have the power to say whether I support them or not and I'm saying I don't support them any other questions thank you very much