Editor’s note: This commentary is by Cathy Tempesta, who is vice president for human resources at GW Plastics in Bethel.
[G]W Plastics was founded in Bethel in 1955 and now has locations in four countries (U.S., Mexico, China and Ireland) with advanced manufacturing facilities in three U.S. states (Vermont, Texas and Arizona). GW Plastics has become one of the plastic industry’s most respected advanced injection molding and contract manufacturing companies, with a focus on providing precision thermoplastic and silicone products to global market leaders who serve the health care, automotive safety-critical, and filtration markets. GW Plastics is one of Vermont’s fastest growing companies and one of the state’s largest manufacturers. GW has received notable statewide and industry recognition, including the Dean Davis Award, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence in Supporting Mature Workers, the Vermont Business Growth Award, and both the Plastics News’ Processor of the Year and Sustained Excellence awards.
Among our numerous locations, we find it the most challenging to recruit qualified candidates in Vermont. Vermont suffers from both fewer applicants and a greater difficulty in finding qualified employees. Our company’s success in Vermont – and ability to stay competitive globally – relies on a steady pipeline of skilled workers. I regularly hear from local students that they see older siblings and their friends graduate from college with mountains of student loan debt – to a point where they are not able to move out of their parents’ home, get an apartment, and be independent. High school students begin to question whether college is worth the debt while those in college are increasingly concerned about their growing debt. They begin to make decisions about which major to pursue based not on what they want to do but rather which path they believe will enable them to pay off their debt after graduation. Both of these populations are vulnerable to not receiving an education that is critical to their adult success and preparation for an unknown future.
We face a dangerous trend. Nearly half of Vermont high school students do not pursue education beyond high school. That number is above 60 percent for students from low-income families (the highest in the New England region). This is – in large part – due to a lack of funding for education beyond high school in Vermont. In the region, public two- and four-year colleges and universities receive an average of 30 percent of their funding from their states. The Vermont State Colleges System receives only 17 percent of its budget from the state.
Despite these challenges, GW Plastics has had success in recruiting a skilled workforce in Vermont by offering a generous scholarship program to students enrolling at Vermont Technical College. Two or more incoming freshmen each year receive a GW Plastics scholarship and are able to take part in a paid internship during the summer. Between the scholarship and paid internship, GW Plastics’ program covers the bulk of the cost of their tuition. This has been a unique and invaluable human resource strategy for our company. We are able to provide significant financial assistance to Vermont students, while providing a much-needed pipeline of Vermont Tech engineering graduates.
GW Plastics also pioneered the first of its kind high school program in Vermont, introducing students to a possible career in advanced manufacturing with on-site classes. The GW Plastics’ School of Tech program offers local high school students the opportunity to enroll in a semester-long for-credit course that exposes them to the world of advanced manufacturing and the possibility of furthering their education with help from GW Plastics at leading technical colleges like Vermont Tech.
Unfortunately, not all companies in Vermont are willing or can afford to provide such support to our students. Asking private companies to shoulder the costs of the Vermont State Colleges System is not a workable or sustainable option. It is good public policy to make college affordable to Vermont students. For companies like ours, it can make the difference between growing in Vermont or growing in another location with a larger pool of qualified candidates.
As a small state, Vermont faces a number of challenges, some of which are largely out of the control of decision makers. College affordability is not one of those challenges. It can and must be a critical piece in the state’s economic development strategy. As lawmakers return to Montpelier for the 2019 session, they should prioritize adequate funding for the Vermont States College System.
