Myth Busting the Jobs Story

You hear it from friends and you read it in headlines; maybe you’ve even said it yourself: “there are no good jobs in this state.” The McClure Foundation has heard it, too… and we don’t believe it. In fact, we’re out to do some myth busting. As an organization focused on equitable access to college and career training, we know that high-pay, high-demand jobs exist in the Green Mountain State.

That’s why we’ve teamed up again with the Vermont Department of Labor to produce the third edition of Pathways to Promising Careers, a free brochure and online resource listing 62 promising jobs with information on median wages, projected openings, and Vermont-based training and education programs that prepare people for these jobs.

The jobs range from software developers and dental hygienists to insurance sales agents and electrical power-line installers. There is incredible diversity of occupations and skill sets represented in the list, and the jobs are projected to pay at least $20/hour. The McClure Foundation envisions a Vermont in which no promising job goes unfilled for lack of a qualified applicant. That’s why we’re out there myth busting and using our philanthropic resources to ensure that the education and training programs that lead to these jobs are accessible, affordable, and visible to learners of all ages and backgrounds.

McClure’s focus also makes us an ideal partner in the Vermont Community Foundation’s efforts to close the opportunity gap by ensuring that all Vermonters have access to high-quality education, meaningful job opportunities, and healthy and vital communities. College and career training is one of the four strategic focus areas of the Opportunity Gap work—when Richard Reeves from the Brookings Institution spoke at the Community Foundation’s 2018 Annual Meeting, he referred to it as the closest thing we have to a silver bullet solution influencing economic mobility.

Of course, college tuition and training programs are expensive, so we believe it’s important for learners and jobseekers to have the best available information about what jobs will be in demand before they choose a major or sign up for a training program. We’re excited that more than 50,000 brochures are on the way to students and job seekers across the state.  

And by supporting equitable access to college and career training through various programs:  like providing inmates access to Community College of Vermont courses, funding the Women Can Do Conference at Vermont Technical College, and helping Spectrum Youth & Family Services chart education pathways for youth in foster care, the McClure Foundation is reaffirming its commitment to empowering Vermont’s most important resource—its people.

Please visit mcclurevt.org/pathways for more information or to request brochures.