Vermont adult-education leaders tell Senate committee programs are bridging workers to jobs but need more support

Brian Kravitz, director of outreach and workforce development at Central Vermont Adult Education, told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on April 25 that adult-education programs statewide are a key on-ramp to work.

"There are close to 30,000 out of school Vermonters aged 18 plus without a high school credential," Kravitz said, and the statewide adult-education network served about 2,200 students last year and expects to serve slightly more this year.

Why it matters: Committee members heard that adult-education providers supply basic literacy, high-school completion, English-language instruction and targeted workforce readiness that can feed hard-to-fill roles and weatherization crews — but program capacity and clarity in legislative language and budgets limit scale.

What witnesses described: Kravitz outlined services including reading, writing, math, computer literacy, financial-literacy partnerships with banks, citizenship preparation and high-school completion via the new adult-diploma program. He said programs use goal-driven coaching to help students pursue family, academic and career aims rather than school-focused goals that can trigger anxiety.

Dwight DeCoster, director of Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s weatherization program, told the committee the biggest constraint on weatherization work is staffing. "The single greatest limiting factor to the weatherization program in Vermont ... is the ability to find, hire, and keep staff," DeCoster said, describing heavy demand for crew members and outreach partnerships that place trainees into community-action agencies and employers.

Alumni and current students described the pathway from classroom to job. Bobby Sweeney, a crew member at CVOEO who trained through Vermont Adult Learning’s Energy Works program, credited the two-week course, hands-on shadowing and workforce-readiness coaching with directly helping him obtain weatherization work and industry certifications. "Had it not been for Vermont adult learning, I would have never been lucky enough to find a career of my dreams from getting my GED all the way to learning how to stand on 2 by sixes," Sweeney said.

Other students described similar outcomes. A student identified as Nina said English classes and resume help connected her to part-time caregiving work; Jared Hatch, who retrained after a back injury, said programs made college preparation and computer skills accessible when his financial and housing stability had faltered. "The staff to be incredibly supportive," Jared said of the Montpelier program. Sasha Protapopo, a visually impaired asylum seeker and current student, said the classes and volunteer placements helped rebuild confidence and language skills and that she hopes "to become a teacher for others with visual impairments."

Budget and statutory notes: Witnesses flagged a set of budget provisions and statutory language under discussion. Kravitz and other speakers asked lawmakers to protect funding lines and incorporate language ensuring continuity for students who were midstream when the state moved from a high-school-completion program to the adult-diploma pathway. Kravitz said some language tied to the adult-diploma transition has been placed into bill 480 and that the committee planned to consider budget language and possible conference committee action.

Committee response and next steps: Committee members thanked presenters and encouraged continued engagement. Witnesses invited legislators to visits and follow-up conversations; Kravitz and partners asked for clearer budget language and coordination with appropriation staff to avoid gaps that would leave near-completing students without a provider.

Ending: The testimony tied classroom services directly to immediate hiring needs in weatherization and other trades and underscored a persistent gap between the number of Vermonters who could benefit from adult education and the network’s current capacity.