January 23, 2008
Vermont Continues Its Pursuit of Boston Talent
Networking Event Seeks To Woo Professionals North
BOSTON – Dim lighting and hip music formed the backdrop as the well-dressed young man and young woman munched seared tuna appetizers and sipped wine.
After a brief introduction and some small talk about work, she cut right to her bottom line.
Would he consider moving to Vermont to work for her company?
Welcome to the brave new world of economic development, Vermont-style.
For the second time in less than a year, economic development officials from the State of Vermont, with employers in tow, came south looking to poach a few of Boston's young workers.
“We see events like this as our most efficient way to find young people who are likely to come back to Vermont to work and live,” said Mike Quinn, Vermont's Commissioner of Economic Development. “We’ve targeted a group who already know and like the state, and this generation finds their jobs by networking, not looking at classifieds.”
The event, at Boston’s trendy Living Room nightclub, is part of a state campaign dubbed PursueVT aimed at retaining young people and recruiting those who have left Vermont to return.
It’s a challenge facing all of New England’s states: Anemic population growth, especially among young people. A study by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire indicated that between 2000 and 2004, the region’s population of those aged 25 to 34 dropped more than 6 percent.
That’s turned around slightly, but New England continues to have a lower percentage of people in this age bracket than the rest of America, and Vermont is tied for dead last with Maine, the study said.
“That’s what prompted our Governor, Jim Douglas, to make this such a priority,” Quinn said. “Vermont is the second-oldest state in terms of median age. Employers and potential employers need to know there’s going to be an adequate workforce available in the future.”
So the state has set out to let young people – especially those who went to one of Vermont’s many colleges and universities – know that there are good jobs in this tiny state to go with its attractive lifestyle.
That includes a website aimed at giving potential recruits information about jobs, housing, and activities in Vermont; an e-newsletter and email alerts about jobs; and events like this that give potential recruits a chance to rub elbows and swap business cards with Vermont companies looking to fill jobs immediately.
A similar event at the same venue in September 2007 drew roughly 75 people. Wednesday’s crowd of about 50 enjoyed free food; a shiny Burton snowboard as a door prize, and nearly 20 employers in information technology and financial services vying for their attention.
"This event has generated a number of leads for us," said David Parker, Operations Director of Dealer.com, a Burlington, Vt. software firm that specializes in internet marketing for the automobile industry. "The fact that people employed in Boston’s tech sector are interested moving back to Vermont is a tribute to the strength of the state’s brand, and to our burgeoning software industry.”
The state plans more events like these in the future, Quinn said, and intends to expand its target cities to include New York and Washington, D.C.
“This is the marketing segment of a concerted approach,” Quinn said. “Our research shows that targeting alumni of Vermont colleges and universities; creating internships for students with Vermont companies; and building more moderately priced homes are the policies we have to implement to go with our message.”
To learn more, visit the Department of Economic Development's website: