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Message from the Board
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Useful Links
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Dear vtTA Members & Supporters,
We announced the report April 13 at an event in Montpelier attended by tech businesses, legislators, and representatives from education and other organizations. Thank you to those who were able to join us for the announcement and thank you to the businesses that participated with displays showcasing the diversity of tech businesses in Vermont: Brandthropology, Burlington Bytes, Empower Mobility, Green Mountain Power, Logic Supply, Physician's Computer Company (PCC), RB Technologies, and Stone Environmental.
We also want to thank the many sponsors who made the report and event possible. They include our presenting sponsor PCC and 21 other businesses and organizations. The complete list is on the back cover of the report.
The Vermont Technology Alliance produced this report to draw attention to tech's contributions to Vermont's economy, the economic growth potential it represents for the state's future, and to outline public policy priorities that will help us expand our tech economy.
Highlights from the Vermont Technology Alliance report include:
- Tech jobs make up 25% of all Vermont employment, representing more than 77,000 jobs.
- Tech jobs represent 40% of all Vermont wages, generating an estimated $5.6 billion in annual pay.
- Vermont's tech workers earn 63% more compared to the Vermont average wage.This premium generates an additional $280 million for Vermont's economy.
- Tech jobs have grown 7 times faster than Vermont's employment as a whole over the last ten years and are expected to be the fastest growing employment sector over the next five years.
- Each tech job creates up to two additional jobs in the Vermont economy.
The report lists five public policy recommendations to support the continued growth of Vermont's tech ecosystem:
- Evolve Vermont's brand to capture both its natural environment image with its innovative technology culture.
- Address infrastructure challenges, particularly availability of broadband, cell phone coverage and affordable housing.
- Expand the support ecosystem for entrepreneurs, including business financing.
- Support the workforce needs of tech, including aligning educational institutions with the state's tech employers.
- Examine existing laws and modify them to ensure they support tech growth.
As the report concludes, tech is a statewide opportunity to develop the economy that Vermont wants -- one that is clean and green, with fiscal security, good-paying jobs and career opportunities for our youth. With the right attention and support, Vermont's tech sector can continue to thrive and grow, attracting tech businesses, tech workers and telecommuters.
You can find a digital copy of the report on the Vermont Technology Alliance website here.
Jeff Couture
Executive Director, Vermont Technology Alliance
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[April 28, 2016 - Champlain College, Burlington]
Generator's Big Maker event features Morehshin Allahyari, a new media artist, art activist, educator, and occasional curator. Her newest project, called "Material Speculation ISIS", is a response to ISIS's destruction of precious artifacts in Syria and Iraq, using 3D printing techniques.
Register and find more
here
.
VTC Student Projects Presentation Day
[May 6, 2016 - VTC Williston Campus]
Vermont Technical College is hosting presentations of student projects at its Williston campus for students in Computer Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Electromechanical Engineering Technology, Information Technology, and Software Engineering. Sessions run from 8 a.m. to 11:45 and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
[May 5, 2016 - Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro]
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation is hosting an Idea Jam at the Vermont Jazz Center to launch a program called "INSTIG8" the point-of-entry for developing and early stage firms in the Southern Vermont / Windham Region.To start, INSTIG8 will offer a series of workshops, events, and pop-up co-working opportunities.
Find more information and register
here
.
[May 19, 2016 - Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, South Burlington]
The Vermont Recruiters Association and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce is holding its third annual Career Connections job fair. A wide range of employers will be on hand at this free event. The Vermont Technology Alliance will participate and represent member businesses at the event.
Find more information
here
.
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[April 22, 2016 - Source: VTDigger]
The House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development will not take any more testimony this year on the controversial bill regarding the definition of independent contractors. The original version of H.867 outlined six specific criteria that a worker must meet in order to be considered an independent contractor. Current Vermont law has three subjective requirements, and says independent contractors can't perform the core work of a business.
[April 22, 2016 - Source: VPR]
Immersive Technology Studios in Barre has launched a project called Vermont Peaks, which it describes as "Vermont's largest art exhibit," to capture Vermont's picturesque panoramic mountaintop views in high-definition HDR images.
[April 21, 2016 - Source: VTDigger]
Vermont's congressional delegation is seeking information from the federal government on the $116 million broadband project that VTel Wireless started in 2010. The letter, sent April 6, says VTel currently has 1,000 subscribers on the Wireless Open World, or WOW, project that was funded with a portion of an $81.7 million grant and a $35.2 million loan in 2010.
[April 19, 2016 - Source: Seven Days]
 THINKmd, a Burlington-based Vermont benefit corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Winooski-based Physician's Computer Company to bring its mobile medical application called MEDSINC - short for Medical Evaluation and Diagnostic System for Infants, Newborns and Children - to market in the U.S. The reason: although the application was designed for use in the developing world, many regions of the United States, including rural areas of Vermont, suffer from a shortage of pediatricians, and MEDSINC could be useful in bridging those gaps.
[April 21, 2016 - Source: WCAX-TV]
A group of Rutland County high school students geared up for a world championship competition in robotics. After placing in the top 40 out of more than 100 teams in New England, they moved on to compete against teams from across the globe.
[April 20, 2016 - Source: Vermont Business Magazine]
The University of Vermont has joined a new national scholarship program aimed at motivating students to do well in high school and prepare better for college. Through an online program platform called Raise.me, students can now earn "micro-scholarships" from UVM starting in 9th grade for a wide range of individual achievements. Students applying to UVM, for example, receive scholarships for taking advanced courses, raising their high school GPA and engaging in community service or leadership.
[April 20, 2016 - Source: Vermont Digger/Press Release]
Community College of Vermont (CCV) is partnering with G.S. Precision to offer a Certified Production Technician (CPT) course in Brattleboro, beginning May 18. This course is the first step in establishing a manufacturing pathway to help G.S. Precision close a skills gap at its Brattleboro facility, and to help workers receive the necessary training to fill open positions.
[April 13, 2016 - Source: WPTZ-TV]
A recent report published by the Vermont Technology Alliance, or vtTA, shows that the tech industry has a significant impact on the state's economy. "We've identified that a quarter of the jobs in Vermont are in the form of tech jobs, and these jobs make up about 40 percent of the payroll in the state," said vtTA Executive Director, Jeff Couture.
Logic Supply unveiled the new DA-1000, a small form-factor computer with features designed to prevent computer failures in the most challenging environmental conditions. It is Logic Supply's most affordable rugged computer to date.
[April 7, 2016 - Source: Vermont Digger]
Gov. Peter Shumlin welcomed representatives from GlobalFoundries to the Statehouse this month for a presentation describing what the company does and how its leaders plan to help the state. Mike Russo, the director of government relations for GlobalFoundries, spoke before more than a dozen lawmakers and business leaders.
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Headquartered in Stowe, Inntopia was founded by Trevor Crist some 15 years ago and presently employs around 35 people.
Inntopia provides the leading suite of advanced online reservation solutions in the destination travel industry. The company's main product is a continuously evolving reservation platform that enables its clients to integrate with over 50 yield management, global distribution, property management, and point-of-sale systems. This unmatched level of integration allows for a free flow of content, availability, and rates between systems for both traditional inventory (such as air, car rental, lodging, and travel insurance) as well as harder-to-find products (events, activities, and services such as vacation rentals, lift tickets, lessons, tee times, and rental equipment).
Inntopia is the switch that ties all these systems together. From the end-user perspective, this simple yet robust responsive system allows for a better one-stop online shopping experience, and the ability to book a complete vacation on any device (smart phone, tablet, or desktop), from the comfort of home, or office.
Inntopia's innovative technology solutions serve ski and golf resorts, destination marketing organizations, hotels, activity suppliers, and tour operators. More recently, Inntopia has also moved into new vertical markets and partnered with attraction resorts, water, and amusement parks. Today, Inntopia has partnerships with over 75 major resorts and destinations across the globe, including Aspen, Intrawest, Colonial Williamsburg, Whistler, Thredbo (Australia), and Engadin, St. Moritz (Switzerland).
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Would you like to see your company highlighted? Know of a company the vtTA should be talking about? Send us an email at
[email protected]
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The Vermont Technology Alliance welcomes businesses and individuals to join our non-profit business association. Members benefit from vtTA's advocacy, programs and services, including discounts on our sponsored events, job postings in our Career Center, and networking and business opportunities.
Sign up to be a new member here.
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Useful Information & Links
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 Visit the
Career Center
on the
Vermont Technology Alliance website
to browse and search job openings from vtTA members
. We currently have more than 140 job openings, making it a good source for finding an opportunity with growing Vermont tech businesses.
For more, click here.
The Community College of Vermont (CCV) offers two-year associate degrees and career-focused certificate programs across Vermont and online. Currently, the college offers an associate degree in Network Administration and an associate degree in Computer Systems Management.
CCV is considering merging the two computer science degree programs into one computer science associate degree that provides a consistent set of skills for general IT employment needs, and a choice of focus areas aligned with job opportunities in Vermont.
CCV is seeking feedback from the tech and business community on its draft program revisions by completing a brief survey. Your input will ensure CCV's degrees remain high quality and prepare graduates for employment in high-demand areas across Vermont.
You can find the survey here.
Champlain Valley SCORE continues its small business roundtable series on the first Tuesday of each month with "Pique Interest in Your Business in Less than 30 Seconds Thru an Elevator Pitch," Tuesday, May 3, 5:30 - 7 p.m. at the New England Federal Credit Union in Williston.
Being able to answer the question "What do you do?" in such a way that is compelling to the listener while leaving them wanting to know more is the key to piquing interest in your business. This session will help you to understand how to construct your own elevator pitch. It will include a short presentation of the concepts followed by breakout groups to start you crafting your own elevator pitch.
For more and to register, click
here
.
Roundtable Videos
: You can find videos of past Roundtable presentations
here
.
The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center offers a range of upcoming workshops and training offerings, in areas such as project management, lean office, lean manufacturing and more.
 Are you looking for business services, meet-up groups, government information or funding sources? Find this and more at vtTA's
resources page
posted on the
Vermont Technology Alliance website
. And be sure to let us know if there's something we should add.
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| © 2014 Vermont Technology Alliance | 70 South Winooski Ave., Box 270, Burlington, VT 05401 | (802) 735-0840 |
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