Vermont’s construction industry is facing a challenge that continues to grow more urgent: there are not enough new workers entering the field to replace those who are retiring.
For many contractors, builders, and construction related businesses, this is no longer a future concern. It is a current workforce crisis. The need for skilled people is real, and the solution will require more than competing for the same limited talent pool.
Recently, Kristie Stern, President of Green Mountain Lion Corporation, met with Josh Reap, President of the Vermont Construction Academy, and Sarah Knight, Apprenticeship Coordinator with the Vermont Department of Labor, Workforce Development, to discuss how Vermont is working to build stronger pathways into the trades.
Their conversation highlighted a simple but important idea: the construction industry cannot solve its workforce challenges alone. It takes employers, educators, apprenticeship partners, state workforce leaders, and community organizations working together to create accessible entry points into the field.
Watch the full story with Josh Reap, President of the Vermont Construction Academy, and Sarah Knight, Apprenticeship Coordinator with the Vermont Department of Labor, Workforce Development, below.
A Collaborative Response to a Workforce Crisis
The Vermont Construction Academy was created by a group of local contractors who recognized that the traditional approach was not enough. Rather than continuing to pull talent from one another, they came together to create a training model designed to grow the workforce.
As Josh explained, the Academy was built around the idea that the only real way out of the workforce shortage is to train more people and create more opportunity. The organization now operates from a 10,000 square foot training facility designed to give people a practical starting point in construction.
That collaborative mindset is important. Construction is an essential part of Vermont’s economy and community infrastructure, but the industry needs a stronger pipeline of people who understand the work, have basic jobsite readiness, and can continue developing through employment and apprenticeship.
Creating Clearer Pathways Into the Trades
One of the strengths of the Vermont Construction Academy is that it serves multiple types of learners.
High school students can participate in training during their junior or senior year. Adults can enter through summer programming. Career changers can use the program as a starting point when they are interested in construction but do not yet have the experience to walk directly into a jobsite role.
Through its boot camp model and pre apprenticeship approach, the Academy helps participants build foundational skills before they enter an apprenticeship or begin working with an employer. Training includes construction basics such as blueprint reading, construction math, safety, tool familiarity, jobsite expectations, and other real world skills needed to succeed in the field.
That foundation matters. For someone new to construction, the first step can be the hardest. The Academy gives people a place to learn the language of the industry, understand the expectations, and build enough confidence to move forward.
The Role of Registered Apprenticeship
Sarah Knight also explained the role of the Vermont Department of Labor in supporting registered apprenticeship programs. Registered apprenticeships are employer sponsored training programs that combine on the job learning with related classroom instruction.
That structure is especially valuable in construction. Employers can train people in the way their business operates, while apprentices gain paid, practical experience and a defined path for growth.
The Vermont Construction Academy and Associated Builders and Contractors of Vermont & New Hampshire, help provide related instruction that supports these apprenticeship programs. This creates a bridge between workforce development and employer need, helping more people move from interest to training to employment.
For employers, apprenticeship is an investment in future talent. For workers, it can be a pathway into a stable and meaningful career.
More Than One Path Forward
Another important point from the conversation is that construction careers are not limited to one role or one trade.
A person may enter the Academy thinking about carpentry and later discover an interest in electrical work, controls, masonry, painting, finish work, or another area of the industry. Josh noted that while carpentry is a major need and one of the reasons the school opened, many trades are facing shortages today.
That flexibility is one of the strengths of the construction industry. There are many ways to build a career, whether someone is interested in hands on trade work, project coordination, supervision, estimating, equipment operation, safety, or other career paths connected to the built environment.
The key is helping people see those options earlier and giving them a practical way to begin.
Understanding the Size of the Gap
The workforce numbers are significant.
According to the conversation, Vermont’s construction industry is seeing approximately 2,500 people retire each year, while about 2,000 people are entering the field. That leaves an annual gap of roughly 500 to 600 workers.
That gap matters for contractors, but it also matters for communities. Construction supports housing, infrastructure, schools, businesses, utilities, and economic growth. When the workforce pipeline is not strong enough, projects become harder to staff, timelines become harder to manage, and the pressure on existing workers continues to grow.
Programs like the Vermont Construction Academy are helping address that challenge at the source by bringing more people into the industry with the right preparation and support.
Bringing Back Hands On Learning
One of the more relatable themes in the interview was the idea that many schools no longer offer the same type of hands on shop classes that introduced earlier generations to tools, trades, and practical skills.
The Vermont Construction Academy is helping fill that gap. In some ways, it is bringing back that hands on exposure, but with a modern workforce development model connected directly to employers and apprenticeship opportunities.
There is also interest in expanding the model beyond one location. Sarah discussed possibilities such as mobile training, roadshow style programming, and partnerships with career and technical education centers across the state. These ideas could make training more accessible to people in different parts of Vermont.
That kind of access will be important if Vermont wants to reach more students, adults, and career changers who may be interested in the trades but need a clear place to start.
Building the Workforce Takes Partnership
The construction labor shortage will not be solved by one organization, one school, or one employer. It will require a shared commitment to workforce development.
The Vermont Construction Academy is an example of what that can look like when employers recognize a common challenge and decide to build something together. With support from apprenticeship partners and the Vermont Department of Labor, the Academy is helping create a stronger connection between training and employment.
For Green Mountain Lion Corporation, this conversation reflects a broader truth we see across the heavy equipment, construction, and machinery sectors: talent pipelines have to be built intentionally.
Strong industries do not happen by accident. They are supported by people, training, leadership, and long term investment in the next generation.
Vermont’s construction workforce needs more people entering the field, and programs like the Vermont Construction Academy are helping make that possible.
To hear more from Josh Reap and Sarah Knight on Vermont’s construction workforce pipeline, watch the full story with Green Mountain Lion Corporation President Kristie Stern.
