New workforce office and board launch; leaders cite housing, data and training academies as priorities

The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee met the new executive director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development and the newly appointed chair of the State Workforce Development Board and heard plans to streamline coordination of workforce programs, identify priority sectors and improve data for policy decisions.

Why it matters: speakers said a smaller, more active board and a central office will be used as a “funnel” to limit duplication across dozens of separate workforce programs and to align training, employer needs and state investments. Legislators pressed for clear metrics and for the office and board to show how proposed actions will address barriers such as housing and program scale.

Savannah Hassell, who introduced herself as "the executive director of the new office of workforce strategy and development," told the committee the office has been open 116 days and she started January 6. Hassell said the office’s work will include creating a publicly accessible inventory of statewide workforce programs, supporting regional replication of successful local models and coordinating outreach between students and employers. She described a summer roadshow with regional development corporations, a biweekly communications plan with the board, and hiring an assistant to support operations.

Jay Bellas, identified in testimony as chair of the newly constituted State Workforce Development Board and chief executive officer of CorePower, described the board’s reduced size and focus: "we don’t wanna be a rubber stamp committee," he said, and urged metrics tied to concrete outcomes such as housing units and vacancy rates. Committee members noted the board has been downsized to about 27 members from a previous count that committee testimony described variously as 51–63.

Department of Labor staff and board members pointed to specific local initiatives as examples of how the office might scale successful models across the state. Jay Ramsey, director of the Department of Labor’s workforce development division, said the Vermont Construction Academy — a commercial carpenter program — began with two state grants ($200,000 initially, then $180,000 the following year) and later received a federal apprenticeship grant; Ramsey said the program has produced training slots and local partnerships that could be replicated elsewhere.

Committee members repeatedly raised housing as central to workforce strategy. One legislator summarized the linkage plainly: "housing policy right now is workforce policy," citing employers who say they cannot recruit or retain staff because of housing shortages. Board and office leaders said they will examine priority sectors each year and align outreach, training and strategic investments accordingly.

Data strategy and a potential "data trust" were also discussed. Hassell said the office is working with the Agency of Digital Services and outside partners to assess existing data and consider a state-level data trust; she warned that a full data-trust build could be costly and compared it to other states’ large investments. Committee members asked for a phased approach that focuses first on freeing and aggregating existing administrative data rather than building an expensive comprehensive system.

What happens next: the board will meet May 19 to draft 3–5 initial goals and the office will return to the committee with the board’s proposed metrics and an update on staffing, program inventory work and planned regional outreach.

Ending: legislators asked the new board and the office to produce measurable goals and to bring back the metrics discussed at next committee meetings so lawmakers can assess whether the new structure is producing clearer coordination and better outcomes.