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Department of Labor outlines statewide workforce programs, flags WIOA and farmworker housing hurdles
Summary
Department of Labor Director of Workforce Development Jay Ramsey briefed the Senate committee on the division’s staffing, funding mix, apprenticeship and veterans work, the Workforce Expansion pilots created by Act 183 of 2022, and challenges including potential WIOA reauthorization changes and H‑2A farmworker housing standards.
Jay Ramsey, director of workforce development at the Vermont Department of Labor, told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee Thursday that the department operates regional offices and multiple federally and state-funded programs that link job seekers and employers.
The department has 75 filled positions with 8 current vacancies across five regions and a Montpelier central office supporting field staff, Ramsey said: “I’m the director of workforce development at the Department of Labor. That means I’m responsible for operation of all of our regional offices and all of our, you know, our grama that’s supported businesses and job seekers.”
Why it matters: Ramsey framed the division as a bridge between businesses and job seekers and said state dollars play a distinctive role because federal funding carries more programmatic restrictions. He told senators roughly two-thirds of the division’s roughly $13 million budget is federal and about one-third is state money, and that state…
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