The Evolution of Vermont 3.0

The idea for Vermont 3.0 came out of a shared concern: that young people might be leaving the state for better jobs without being aware of Vermont's myriad high-tech career opps. Last fall, Adam Greshin, a partner in Sugarbush's Summit Ventures, published an op-ed piece suggesting a solution: an "ultimate job fair." Citing a twice-yearly Hub Crawl in Boston as a model, he outlined an "information download and networking session" with Vermont's high-profile companies, noting it "would be a terrific way to introduce students to the potential of a career in Vermont."

Turns out a number of entities had envisioned a similar event — and had complementary interests in bringing Vermont's growing companies and job seekers together. Members of the Vermont Software Developers Alliance are seeking qualified in-state workers; the region's academic institutions — in this case, Champlain College, the University of Vermont and St. Michael's College — train students to meet the needs of today's employers; VSAC helps with the finances. Seven Days attracts 60,000 highly educated Vermont readers to its employment-classifieds section every week. Burlington's CEDO is invested in fostering a thriving local economy.

These groups came together to organize the first annual Vermont 3.0: Creative Tech Career Jam. It was an "ultimate job fair"— many of the 50+ exhibitors were actively looking for employees to fill good-paying jobs. But it was also a showcase of growing Vermont businesses with reputations that extend way beyond the state's borders: Burlington's SoundToys works with Beck, GrandMixer DXT, Broken Social Scene and Paul Simon. Polhemus won a special-effects Academy Award for its motion-capture technology on the movie True Lies. Vermont Systems Inc. makes the recreational software used on all the U.S. Army and Navy bases in the world. Companies such as NRG Systems, Microstrain and dealer.com are leaders in their respective fields of wind energy, robotics and automotive e-commerce.

Two concurrent speaker series — and a popular "Guitar Hero" demonstration — broke up the business booth action. One featured reps from Vermont companies that have stayed competitive by incorporating technology, including Concept2, groSolar, JDK, Resolution, Contois Music and the Data Farm. The other focused on unusual tech training programs offered by local colleges and universities.

More than 1500 people attended Vermont 3.0 on Saturday, January 26 at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center on the Burlington Waterfront: high-school students still in the company of their parents; resume-clutching college students from as far away as McGill and Amherst; and career changers of all ages. Exhibitors lost their voices, but happily collected the names of dozens of qualified candidates.

Vermont 3.0's organizers have already started planning next year's event. In the meantime, our goal is to present other public programs to keep job seekers and recruiters in touch. Check this website regularly — or sign up for the Vermont 3.0 newsletter — to stay connected throughout the year.