The vtTA has found that tech companies in Vermont are hiring, but are having difficulty finding the employees they need, especially experienced professionals. There are more jobs available then potential candidates in the state to fill them. For many tech businesses that means attracting employees who want to relocate to Vermont.
With the support of a USDA Rural Business Development Grant, the Vermont Technology Alliance spent the last year understanding Vermont's tech hiring needs and opportunities; conducting research and soliciting input on Vermont's tech economy and jobs; helped raise the awareness of Vermont as a home for tech businesses and tech job opportunities; and took actions to highlight and fill tech jobs in Vermont.
Among vtTA's actions that grew out of this effort was a survey, the publication of a Vermont tech job report, the launching of a Career Center on our website and the development of a video to promote Vermont as a place to live and work in tech.
You can find details of our activities, actions and findings in the grant report:
Vermont Technology Recruitment Report and Plan
.
This vtTA will continue to respond to the findings and ideas, and work on behalf of our members and Vermont's tech sector to help attract talent to fill exciting job opportunities in Vermont.
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We testified before the House Commerce Committee in support of legislation to
provide a clearer definition and rules concerning independent contractors with regard to worker's compensation and unemployment insurance. You can find the statement
here
. We favor changes that
balance worker protection with the flexibility for an independent and collaborative workforce, which is an important part of the tech industry. It is unclear whether a bill can pass this year.
Jeff Couture
Executive Director, Vermont Technology Alliance
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Useful Links
We have sponsorship opportunities in our newsletter, for our Lunch & Learn and social events, on our website, and much more.
Click below to contact us!
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[March 28, 2017 - Hinesburgh Public House]
The Hinesburg Hub is sponsoring this gathering at the Hinesburgh Public House for anyone interested in finding out about this co-working opportunity and connecting with others who make up the emerging co-working community.
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This 8
th annual job fair brings together hiring employers to share their job openings with job seekers.
The vtTA will be participating, sharing our member businesses' job openings in the
Career Center.
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Burlington Tech Community Opportunities
[April 5, 2017 - Main Street Landing]
The Vermont Coders Connection host lightning talks by representatives from 18 meet-up groups and other organizations who make up the Burlington area tech community.
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Invention 2 Venture (I2V)
[April 6, 2017 - UVM Davis Center
]
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Scott Bailey
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The UVM Office of Technology Commercialization presents the 12th annual Invention 2 Venture Conference, which brings together academic rese
arche
rs, students, entrepreneurs and business leaders from across Vermont and New England to talk about how to protect, develop and finance business ideas. Keynote speaker is Scott Bailey, Executive Director of MassChallenge.
Find more information
here
.
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Vermont Technology in the News
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Revision Military Awarded Next-Generation Helmet Contract
[March 21, 2017 - Source: Press Release]
 Revision Military has been awarded the U.S. Army's Advanced Combat Helmet Generation II (ACH GEN II) helmet contract. This five-year contract is valued at more than $98 million. Revision's ACH helmet solution is up to 24 percent lighter than the current helmet system and this contract represents the first large-scale, significant advancement in ACH technology in 15 years. The helmets will be manufactured at Revision's facility in Newport, Vermont.
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Can The State Step Up Its IT Game?
[March 17, 2017 - Source: U.S. News and World Report; Inc.]
Vermont has had some well-documented challenges with big IT projects over the years. But these digital infrastructure projects are important to a functioning and efficient state government, and Governor Phil Scott has formed a team to tackle the issue. VPR invited members of the Governor's Government Modernization and Efficiency Team - or GMET - to its Vermont Edition program to discuss how state government can use tech better.
Listen to the broadcast
here
.
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Recent Reports Name Vermont a top 10 state; #1 for Small Business Credit Scores
[March 14, 2017 - Source: U.S. News and World Report; Inc.]
 Vermont has received some recognition recently from two national publications.
U.S. News and World Report
ranked U.S. states
to "understand which states are doing best at what matters most to Americans." Vermont earned a ranking of 10 in the magazine's list of top ten states, which also includes New England neighbors Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the top two spots.
The rankings are based on seven broad categories
- health care, education, opportunity, economy, infrastructure, crime & corrections and government - and include 68 metrics within the larger categories. Vermont scored highest in crime & corrections (#1), health care (#6), and opportunity (#10).
The list is based on a report compiled by Nav, a site that helps companies manage their credit scores. Nav compiled the list by taking the credit scores of 15,500 of its small-business customers and then calculating the average business credit score for each state.
The article also notes the work of FreshTracks Capital
and the state's Vermont Small Business Offering Exemption
in support of Vermont's startups.
Read more here.
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. . . And 'Safest State'
[March 15, 2017 - Source: Vermont Business Magazine]
T
he website
24/7 Wall St
has recently released its ranking of "The Safest States in America,"with Vermont coming in first. New England did well in the study, which leaned heavily on crime statistics. Maine was ranked number 2, New Hampshire number 4 and Connecticut number 6.
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FirstLight and Sovernet Communications Combine Operations
[March 14, 2017 - Source: Press Release]
FirstLight Fiber
, a leading fiber-optic bandwidth infrastructure services provider operating in the Northeast, announced that Oak Hill Capital Partners had completed its acquisition of Sovernet Communications and has combined the operations of Sovernet with FirstLight. This acquisition combines Sovernet's high-capacity network transport, broadband internet, data center and voice services in Vermont and New York with FirstLight's portfolio of data, internet, data center, cloud and voice services. The acquisition adds approximately 1,300 fiber route miles throughout Vermont, and Sovernet's Tier III data center in Burlington, Vermont.
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Burlington Telecom Seeks Buyer That Shares City's Values
[March 14, 2017 - Source: Burlington Free Press]
Affordable service, a local presence, and a long-term strategic vision for the future are three of the criteria the Burlington Telecom Advisory Board is looking for in a buyer for the internet company. The City Council approved the board's plan , kicking off a process that is planned to culminate in the sale of the utility by January 2018.
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Greensea Redefines the Connection between Man and Machine
[March, 2017 - Source: Marine Technology Reporter]
Greensea Systems and its CEO Ben Kinnaman are featured in the cover story of the March edition of Marine Technology Reporter, the largest publication serving the global marine technology market. The profile looks at the origins, accomplishments and goals of the growing, 10+ year old company, based in Richmond Vermont.
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At Cybersecurity Conference, Scott Highlights Attempted Attacks on State Government
[March 10, 2017 - Source: VPR]
Government and academic leaders met with representatives from Vermont businesses and non-profits earlier this month to help improve cybersecurity awareness, at the "Understanding Digital Threats" conference at Champlain College. Gov. Phil Scott said the state government has dealt with about 65,000 malware and phishing attempts, nearly 575,000 attacks against other state resources, and over 19,000 remote scans that were all successfully blocked, in just the past two months.
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Vermont Women in Tech Rule
[March 8, 2017 - Source: BT Telecom]
This Burlington Telecom blog post offers a small sample of "Vermont women that are killing it in the Tech Industry and inspiring women and girls everywhere to pursue their dreams."
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SymQuest Appoints New President
[March 3, 2017 - Source: Press Release]
 SymQuest Group, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc., and regionally based IT services and office technology provider, announced the appointment of Meg Fleming as President of SymQuest effective April 1, 2017. Fleming will succeed Co-Founder, and acting President and CEO, Larry Sudbay.
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Vermont's Flex-A-Seal Acquires Louisiana Manufacturer
[March 2, 2017 - Source: Vermont Business Magazine/Press Release]
Flex-A-Seal, an Essex Junction, Vermont-based manufacturer of custom engineered mechanical seals and welded metal bellows, recently acquired H&S Sealing, in Louisiana. As part of the expansion effort, H&S Sealing will become Flex-A-Seal Service Solutions. With this addition, the company expands its capabilities and its ability to service a wide range of customers in the southern United States and throughout the country.
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Featured Member: IPNetVoice
Established in 1998, IPNetVoice has continually been immersed in the technologies that are driving today's rapid acceptance of IP-based communications and networking. IPNetVoice began as a training company specializing in Cisco and Microsoft communications systems, but soon added IP telephony consulting to their offerings. Recent additions to IPNetVoice training programs have included Cisco Wireless, Cisco MeetingPlace, and Cisco Unified Communications.
Unified Communications is the seamless integration of all means and applications of communication, regardless of platform or device, utilizing Ethernet connectivity and the internet instead of traditional telephone systems.This includes all aspects of telephony and voice mail, messaging, collaboration, FAX, mobile devices, tablets and desktops, all with voice, video and data capabilities.
Recognizing a need for a Unified Communications solution for small to mid-sized businesses, IPNetVoice now offers an "out-of-the-box" option with their IPNV Hosted Unified Communications Solution. The hosted, or "cloud-based," option now makes these advanced technologies available to small businesses at significant cost reductions.
IPNetVoice has offices in Peru, New York and Colchester, Vermont, and customers and users across the United States. Configurations vary from large single campuses to multi-site/ multi-state networks, and includes manufacturing, financial services and education.
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Useful Information & Links
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Vermont Small Business Development Center Workshops
The Vermont Small Business Development Center sponsors a number of workshops on starting a small business and other topics to help future entrepreneurs turn their passions into business ventures.
Find more information
here
.
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vtTA Career Center
Vermont Technology Alliance member companies are hiring, and when you visit the
Career Center
on the
Vermont Technology Alliance website
you can browse and search for these job openings
. The Career Center features more than 150 tech and non-tech jobs with Vermont Technology Alliance member businesses.
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SCORE Small Business Education Series
Score continues to offer free education sessions for small businesses on the second Wednesday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the New England Federal Credit Union in Williston. The next session is April 12: "Is Your Small Business Online Smart?," exploring data security.
Find more information here.
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Resources
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.
Find the resources page
here
.
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© 2017 Vermont Technology Alliance | 70 South Winooski Ave., Box 270, Burlington, VT 05401 | (802) 735-0840
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