Advanced Vermont asks for $600,000 to scale MyFutureVT and statewide career navigation

Tom Cheney, executive director of Advanced Vermont, told the committee the organization seeks $600,000 to formalize a statewide career navigation system and sustain MyFutureVT, a career‑planning platform used by schools and community partners. "If we don't get continued funding, there's a very good chance MyFutureVT goes away," Cheney said.

Cheney described MyFutureVT as a Vermont‑specific resource that aggregates job, education and support‑service information and reported roughly 30,000 annual visits; he said sustained funding would expand outreach, add industry‑level pages, align the tool with the Department of Labor’s JobLink replacement, and support a 'Graduate With a Plan' professional‑learning rollout so trusted adults can guide students through post‑high‑school options.

Why it matters: Cheney framed the request as addressing a gap between the education system and workforce needs: state attainment goals call for higher credentialing while the pipeline of students continuing to postsecondary education has declined, he said. The proposal emphasizes scaling tools and a navigator network to reach students in middle and high school and to support adults who guide them.

Committee discussion centered on how the initiative would dovetail with Agency of Education and Department of Labor planning and about long‑term sustainability if program costs are borne by the nonprofit rather than embedded in agency budgets. Cheney said Advanced Vermont sees the work as a bridge to help the state implement transformation while agencies develop long‑term plans.