Labor director proposes three $100,000 grants to expand adult CTE and apprenticeship access

Jay Ramsey, director of workforce development at the Department of Labor, told the committee the agency will repurpose smaller adult‑CTE grants into larger multi‑year awards to expand evening and weekend training that feeds registered apprenticeships.

Ramsey said the department currently allocates about $400,000 a year to adult CTE work and will stop $20,000 annual grants to individual tech centers. "We're on the cusp of releasing a request for proposals for 3 projects that would be funded at a $100,000 each, and we'll commit to funding them for 3 years," he said, framing the move as a way to create geographic coordination and employer‑aligned training.

The presentation emphasized that Vermont has 17 regional CTE centers but that adult programming is inconsistent. "Taxpayers should also be able to benefit from those facilities, those piece of equipment, and the training that could be offered through the tech centers for adults and employers," Ramsey said, urging a ‘‘cradle through career’’ approach that links short‑term credential training to registered apprenticeship pathways.

Ramsey described registered apprenticeship as employer‑led, structured training that commonly appears in trades such as plumbing and electrical work but noted an effort to expand apprenticeship connections to other sectors. He said the department hopes the three funded projects will support either geographic coordination across tech centers or sector‑based programs (for example, manufacturing or health care) and explicitly pointed to local postsecondary institutions — Community College of Vermont and Vermont State University — as potential partners for credit articulation.

On the relationship to adult basic education, Ramsey clarified the systems remain distinct: Vermont Adult Learning and several nonprofit adult basic education providers (administered by the Agency of Education) serve learners seeking a diploma or GED, while the adult CTE programs targeted by the RFP are workforce‑oriented.

Ramsey said the three‑year commitment would run to 2029 and that the department will revisit the approach at that point. The department did not provide a detailed allocation formula or list of eligible applicants; the RFP was described as forthcoming.

What's next: the department will release the RFP and begin selecting up to three projects; questions from the committee and follow‑up testimony were requested to refine eligibility and coordination with adult basic education providers.