Advance Vermont asks House Education Committee for $600,000 to expand statewide career navigation system

Tom Chaney, executive director of the nonprofit Advance Vermont, told the House Education Committee on Feb. 6 that his group seeks $600,000 in continued state funding to sustain and expand a statewide career navigation system that helps students and adults find and pursue education and training opportunities.

Chaney said MyFutureVT, the group's free online hub, aggregates program listings, career information and support-service contacts statewide and has grown from about 650 to roughly 950 published education options in the last year. "Nine out of ten users report MyFutureVT has the information they need and that's easy to navigate," Chaney said, adding that 90% of users took a step — such as applying for a job or program — after using the site.

The funding request would support three priorities: sustaining and expanding MyFutureVT, fully implementing a "Graduate with a Plan" professional-development program for adults who support students, and continuing the state's required publication of credential-bearing programs and support-service databases. Chaney said the current state allocation this past year was $150,000 and that the $600,000 ask would allow Advance Vermont to add staff and substantially increase outreach: "I think we can hit in the neighborhood of 300 adults a year," he said, estimating each trained adult could in turn support several students.

Chaney framed the request around statewide attainment goals. He said a recent national-data update (2024) showed about 60% of Vermonters hold a credential after high school, short of the group's 70% goal. He also described a persistent pipeline drop-off: of 100 students, he said, 82 graduate high school, 73 plan to continue, about 40 enroll in college or training, and roughly 28 complete a degree or credential.

Committee members asked how MyFutureVT pays for operations and outreach. Chaney said the tool currently runs on a combination of state, federal and philanthropic grants and that the organization is exploring sponsorships and employer partnerships but does not expect advertising to fully support the platform. He acknowledged much of the site’s program information is published on a voluntary basis and that data quality requires continuing work with providers.

Chaney stressed that Advance Vermont partners with state agencies — including the Agency of Education and the Department of Labor — and that the site can serve as a state resource: "Without MyFutureVT, there wouldn't be a place for youth and adults to go get that information," he said, and the organization can help the state meet statutory requirements for listing credential-bearing programs. The committee did not take action on the request during the hearing; members said follow-up and additional testimonies were scheduled next week.