FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: David Mace (802) 828-3333

Department of Economic Development Releases Comprehensive Study of Young People to
Determine What Draws Them to Vermont

MONTPELIER – Young workers want to live in Vermont, but the state must create high-paying
jobs and affordable housing for them – and let them know about it.

Those were among the findings of a comprehensive study of young people designed to find out
what will make the next generation of Vermonters want to live and work here.

“This report tells us that young people with a connection to Vermont – including a very
significant majority of those who come to attend college – also consider Vermont as a potentially
attractive place to live and work,” said Vermont Commissioner of Economic Development Mike
Quinn.

Speaking at a briefing in Burlington late last week to announce the release of the “Growing
Vermont’s Next Generation Workforce” report, Quinn noted that two-thirds of nearly 2,000
alumni of Vermont’s colleges and universities now living out of state said they’d consider
returning.

“We need to remind them that we’d like to have them back,” he said. “And in ways and through
channels that work for them.”

The report was commissioned by Gov. Jim Douglas in January 2006 and was prepared by a team
of consultants that included Next Generation Consulting of Madison Wisconsin; the University
of Vermont Center for Rural Studies; and led by TIP Strategies of Austin, Texas.

Governor Douglas raised the issue in response to news that Vermont had become the second
oldest state in the nation and amid reports that employers were expressing concerns about their
aging workforces and their ability to find workers.

“The state of Vermont will not be able to keep all of its young people from leaving,” said Jon
Roberts, Managing Director of Economic Development for TIP Strategies. “But it can persuade
some to return, and attract other young people as well. Instead of worrying about ‘brain drain’
we need to think in terms of ‘brain churn.’”

Rebecca Ryan, president of Next Generation Consulting, said that nearly 1,200 “deliberators”
who have considered moving to Vermont are mostly women (57 percent); single; and
professionals but that work isn’t necessarily the most important thing to them.

“These are educated, talented and mobile people,” she said. “The can choose where they want to
live and work, and the community they live in is as important as their job opportunities when
deciding where to go.”

She noted that 94 percent of those surveyed said that “a community where I can afford to live,
work, and play,” was an important factor in choosing their home.

“But only 33 percent of those living in the state thought that Vermont offers this,” Quinn said.
“Clearly, the issue of affordability – wages versus the costs of housing, taxes, and living – is one
that must be addressed.”

Other recommendations included:

• Strengthening the ties between education and business to help develop a workforce
whose skills match employers’ needs and to inform workers of opportunities.

• Actively targeting young people outside Vermont with messages about jobs, housing,
educational opportunities, and other activities.

• Marketing the state to potential entrepreneurs: “Current generational research strongly
underscores the idea that young people see themselves as an ‘economy of one,’” the
report said.

The Department of Economic Development will fully evaluate the findings and have an ongoing
conversation with stakeholders before determining what its next steps are.

“There are real barriers, but there are real opportunities here as well,” Quinn said. “Now that we
have real data and concrete recommendations based on that data, we have a roadmap. We can do
this.”

To read the full report, visit the Department of Economic Development’s website:
http://www.thinkvermont.com/publications/

### 30 ###

Related posts:

1. Seniors Outnumber Teenagers in Job Force
2. High Unemployment: Get Used To It
3. PayScale Releases IT Startup Salary Hotspots Report: San Francisco, Austin and Seattle Top List
4. Education, Gender, and the “Great Recession”
5. The Many Measures of a Place