• The Bennington Country Workforce, Education, and Training Plan surveys our current workforce analyses workforce needs in 5 critical sectors -- Health and Human Services, Manufacturing, Information-based Businesses, Hospitality and Tourism, and Education.
• The Bennington County Employers List provides information on area employers including type of business, number of employees, job categories and skill descriptions, education requirements, and school-to-work connections.
• The annual Bennington County Business/Education Conference disseminates labor market information, reviews workforce development needs, and promotes "best practices".
• Department of Employment & Training Career Resource Center professionals visit high schools to offer career guidance and training in employability skills.
• Southern Vermont College students have interned at NASTECH, Mack Molding and the local Regional Planning Commission.

• Manchester's Burr & Burton Academy has reorganized its curriculum around career paths. All students choose a Concentration Area-Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Business, Technology, Humanities-as a theme for organizing their courses and must pass a number of elective courses within their Concentration Area that connect their studies to real-world career paths. The workforce development recommendations outlined in the plan are consistent with the economic development goals of the region as outlined by the Bennington County Industrial Corporation, the Bennington County Regional Commission, and other community groups.
• Arlington Memorial High School offers a class at Mack Molding Co. led by company staff who teach knowledge about the industry, develop employability skills and especially build essential "soft skills" such as teamwork, dependability, flexibility.
• Arlington Memorial High School offers   a Careers Class for all 7th graders to raise students' awareness of career options and the educational   stepping-stones leading to successful careers.
• In the Career and Life Planning Course at Community College of Vermont (C.C.V.) students examine their own learning and communication styles, develop a career portfolio, research career and educational goals and conduct interviews with area employers.
  
• Southern Vermont College has collaborated with an advisory panel of local IT users/employers to develop a new IT minor/concentration.
• The Career Development Center's innovative program of "scenario assessment" joins local manufacturers with CDC instructors to present students with real-life manufacturing problems and evaluate the work processes and products students generate
• C.C.V. Incorporates a service learning component in certain Human Services and Early Childhood Education courses. In addition, over half the concentrations at C.C.V. require students to complete a 110-hour field experience prior to graduation.
• The Career Development Center's summer Computer Camp for high school students exposes students to careers in information technology and prepares them for further training.

• Burr & Burton students gain experience by completing a 20-week Field Study on-site at an area business.
• Every 11th and 12th grader at Arlington Memorial High School completes a job shadow experience at a county business.
  
• Mt. Anthony Union High School's School-to-Work Office and Career Center assists students in learning about careers through a job shadow or Field Study at a local business or volunteer work at a community agency.

We seek out and evaluate proposals for workforce development:

• The Partnership actively pursues opportunities to promote high quality jobs and increased competitiveness for area employers through responsive training and education activities.