Virtual Career Expo Launches
Previously released in the Brattleboro Reformer
Windham County, VT – Windham County residents of all ages and various employment needs are now able to connect with employers and learn about local employment opportunities virtually. The website is designed to support job-seekers, especially those impacted by COVID-19, as face-to-face hiring events remain cancelled for the foreseeable future and many Vermonters are unemployed due to the crisis.
The website will serve as a replacement for the annual Southern Vermont Career Expo, traditionally held every Fall in Brattleboro. The Expo managed and staffed by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation in partnership with the Vermont Department of Labor and the Southern Vermont Career Expo team.
The Virtual Career Expo has a dual-focus; to offer opportunities for job seekers to access employment and internship opportunities, and to provide resources for individuals navigating the job-market in Windham County during COVID-19 and beyond. Employers can link to their websites, provide contact information for job-seekers, and post a small blurb about the opportunities they offer. Businesses interested in having their information shared on the website can submit it via the registration form on www.vermontcareerexpo.com, at no cost. Employers can also sponsor “Business Spotlights”, where job-seekers can engage “screen-to-screen” with hiring managers.
The Virtual Career Expo website will also highlight local and regional workshops and tools to help prepare job-seekers, including Resume, Cover Letter, and Professionalism workshops offered at the Career Resource Center in Brattleboro, and by other state partners. Job-seekers can explore job postings and access these resources and events free of charge. Given the uncertainty around COVID-19 and its long-term impacts on the regional economy, this resource will remain available for employers and job-seekers through mid-September.
The Career EXPO planning team includes representatives from Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, Creative Workforce Solutions, Southeastern Vermont Community Action, Vermont Department of Labor, and VocRehab Vermont, Vermont Agency of Human Services, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. These regional partners are collaboratively developing a local workforce system to serve Windham County, its employers, and job seekers. For more information about the Career EXPO please visit www.vermontcareerexpo.com, or contact abeck@brattleborodevelopment.com.
About BDCC and SeVEDS:
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for industrial and commercial growth throughout Southeastern Vermont, including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall and Weston. BDCC serves as the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for the greater Windham County area. BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont.
This BDCC activity was made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is an affiliate of BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to understand and create long term strategies needed to reverse the economic decline of the Windham Region and plan for the economic impacts from the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2014, after multiple years of regional input, education and data gathering, SeVEDS received federal approval for the Windham Region’s federally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). SeVEDS partnered with Bennington’s Regional Economic Development Group in 2018 to develop the 2019 Southern Vermont Zone CEDS. For more information visit: www.seveds.com
