Serve Learn Earn: Legislative Report 2025

Vermont’s Way to Work Since 2021, the Vermont Legislature has partnered with the Serve Learn Earn collaborative (SLE) to address critical workforce shortages in construction, forestry, conservation, and sustainable agriculture.

SLE’s partners lead hands-on training programs that build a robust and equitable workforce, strengthening Vermont’s capacity to meet housing, economic, food security, and climate goals.

“VDOL is proud to partner with SLE’s three pre-apprenticeship programs, which help prepare Vermonters for careers critical to the state’s thriving future, including in the trades. It’s the first step for many into a well-paying, rewarding career.”

Sarah Knight, Senior Program Administrator for Apprenticeship Workforce Development Division, Vermont Department of Labor

In collaboration with the Agency of Natural Resources and SerVermont, SLE helps Vermonters build essential technical and interpersonal skills, explore career possibilities, develop job readiness, and forge connections with local employers. By completing service projects, participants hone their skills, deepen peer relationships, build resilience and confidence, and strengthen their communities and the state’s economy.

SERVE LEARN EARN’S PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

SERVE LEARN EARN’S CUMULATIVE IMPACT SINCE 2021

2,162

PARTICIPANTS

15,902

WEEKS OF SERVICE & TRAINING

859

CREDENTIALS OF VALUE & COLLEGE CREDIT EARNED

80

DIFFERENT TOWNS & CITIES REPRESENTED BY SLE PARTICIPANTS

Housing & Construction Industry 212 Vermonters served in 2025 SLE partners are building equitable and sustainable pathways into trades careers, helping to fill vacant positions and address our housing crisis.

Youth Career Exploration 85 Vermonters served in 2025

In 2025, three trades programs became registered pre-apprenticeship programs through the Department of Labor. Participants earn industryrecognized credentials, get hands-on training, and engage with employers through paid internships, gaining critical experience and strengthening communities. Graduates were hired by Montpelier Construction, Spates Construction, Control Technologies, Blair Custom Builders, Vermont Frames, WheelPad, and others.

Career exploration programs are a critically important resource for young people, bridging the transition from high school to work and future training. SLE’s programs provide supportive opportunities to explore and get hands-on experience in various occupations while also building professional attitudes and transferable skills like communication, problem solving, and resilience.

By connecting young people to opportunities and employers in the building trades, conservation, and sustainable agriculture, SLE promotes a robust pipeline of workers and encourages our youth to stay and work in Vermont.

“YouthBuild worked for me because it’s like a family here; it’s all one-on-one when you need help. All the work is hands-on and straightforward. My YouthBuild experience changed me for the better. It helped me see what I want to do for a career and how to do it.”

ReSOURCE YouthBuild Graduate

ServeLearnEarn.org

“This program has completely changed my life! I used to feel silly saying I wanted to pursue a career in the trades.

Now I can confidently say this is what I want to do and who I want to be.”

VWW Trailblazer Participant

177

30

Industry Recognized Construction Credentials Earned (NCCER, OSHA-10)

Clean Heat Credentials Earned (Heat Pump Installation)

Forestry, Flood Recovery & Climate Resiliency 124 Vermonters served in 2025 SLE’s Conservation programs at Audubon Vermont and VYCC provide participants with hands-on experience and the opportunity to gain employer-recognized credentials in land and wildlife stewardship. In partnership with ANR, federal agencies, towns, and private landowners, participants make a real impact on preserving natural resources, improving outdoor infrastructure, and building flood resiliency.

SLE Conservation programs support a range of conservation efforts throughout Vermont, including forestry, flood recovery, habitat improvement, farm and forestland assessment, and species monitoring.

SLE Graduates have been hired by the Town of Essex, the North Branch Nature Center, Red Start Natural Resources Management, and the Lake Champlain Basin Program, among others.

“The experiences of this internship could never be replicated in a classroom. I think the hands-on nature of this work allows learning to be done faster as well as more indepth. I found all of my experiences this summer to be useful in my future.”

Audubon Vermont Participant

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security 89 Vermonters served in 2025 Participants in VYCC Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security programs help address food and nutritional security in Vermont. Participants receive hands-on training in sustainable agriculture practices, poultry production, vegetable production, and safe food handling by working with VYCC’s professional staff to grow and distribute 75,000 pounds of produce annually. This year, 661 Vermont families received up to 27 weeks of fresh produce via the VYCC healthcare share program. SLE graduates have been hired by Vermont Food Bank and Trillium Hill Farm, among many others.

“My VYCC experience has been the most impactful time of my life. It has shaped me into a confident, skilled, and proud young adult. VYCC has exposed me to new living conditions, environments, and interpersonal dynamics, proving to me that I’m capable of more than I thought.”

VYCC Corps Member

73

Forest and Conservation Credentials Earned

ServeLearnEarn.org

2025 Service Project Impact

VWW Trailblazers built and installed shelves for a shelter in Swanton run by CVOEO. VWW LIFT built picnic tables for the Winooski Parks & Rec Department.

Audubon Junior Conservation monitored a Peregrine Falcon nesting site in Bristol.

ReSOURCE Construction 101 built an accessible ramp on a senior citizen’s trailer in Northfield.

VWW Trailblazers built affordable housing for an artist-in-residence program in Rutland.

Audubon AmeriCorps completed a Bird & Bee FriendlyFarming Assessment for habitat improvement in Bennington.

ReSOURCE Construction 101 built benches and picnic tables in Derby.

VYCC Park Restoration built a kiosk and roof for the Elmore State Park.

VYCC Conservation completed flood-recovery habitat restoration and lean-to repair in Stillwater Groton State Forest.

ReSOURCE YouthBuild Barre rehabilitated an affordable housing unit in Orange.

VYCC Farm delivered health care shares to the VA Hospital in White River Junction to address food insecurity for veterans.

Audubon AmeriCorps helped to coordinate the Herrick’s Cove Wildlife Festival in Rockingham.

Serve Learn Earn’s recent focus has been on building affordable housing and sustaining flood-recovery projects across Vermont. In the last year, SLE participants have completed 16 total projects, including 11 affordable housing units and five floodrebuilding projects, in communities including Barre, Richmond, Waterbury, Duxbury, East Calais, Northfield, and Hinesburg.

We believe Vermont can have a

ROBUST AND EQUITABLE WORKFORCE

with the capacity to meet our housing, economic, and climate goals. Since 2020, Serve Learn Earn partners have joined forces to help address Vermont’s significant workforce shortages.

Learn more about how our work is benefiting Vermont at ServeLearnEarn.org

This report is possible through support of the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation.