Committee advances workforce-training provisions, discusses DHCD staffing and appropriations

On Feb. 27 the House General & Housing Committee reviewed several workforce-development and appropriation items in draft 4.1, including a proposed multi-year grant to an Associated General Contractors (AGC) association for recruiting and trades training and line items that count positions in the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

The draft contains an appropriation line described in committee as corrected from "$1.49 500" to "$4.48 500" to the Department of Labor for a grant to an AGC association, described as being used over three years. Committee staff said the grant would fund a recruiting position, additional trainers for licensure-related training (electrical, plumbing, HVAC), and program materials and events to bring more students and workers into the trades. "The AGC has a very robust training program that is completely open to the public," a presenter said. The committee discussed that some licensing-related training (for example, HVAC refrigerant certification) currently requires travel out of state, which this proposal seeks to reduce.

Members also discussed state-college funding described in the draft as a separate allocation (referred to in one exchange as "200 and 373,000"), intended to support CTE and state-college programs that prepare people for licensed construction trades. Committee members said these proposals aim to increase recruitment from current Vermont CTE and adult-learner pools and to help employers find trained workers.

On staffing and appropriations, the draft lists DHCD positions and a residential-services item intended to fund technical-assistance positions for municipalities, nonprofits and private developers to support infill and missing-middle development. Committee members asked legislative counsel and staff to reconcile the draft's appropriation section with the committee's earlier letter so the numbers and position descriptions align. A committee member said the appropriation section was not yet complete and staff would review it either later that afternoon or the next morning.

Ending

Committee members signaled support for workforce training investments but noted the draft requires cleanup of appropriation language and confirmation of which committee will carry programmatic provisions that traditionally sit in commerce. No formal vote on these appropriations or positions was recorded during the session.