The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development has launched a new relocation program that offers up to $7,500 in reimbursement grants for workers who move to Vermont after July 1, according to a recent press release.
The program will be overseen by the Vermont Department of Economic Development, and applicants can apply for a grant through the website portal.
“We’re not just sending checks out the door to people that have moved here,” said Nate Formalarie, a spokesperson for the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
“They need to move here, make the move, have the job and prove it all,” he said.
The agency expects to derive funding for the program from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Qualifying occupations have “acute” needs and projected openings in the near future, and include child care workers, registered nurses, cooks and servers, construction workers, delivery drivers, retail salespeople and elementary school teachers.
The program is part of Act 80, a Vermont law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Scott in 2019.
It followed another law passed the previous year, which also used grants to encourage workers to relocate to Vermont while keeping their remote jobs.
“We were one of the first in the nation to launch a program like this … and then, a consideration was looking for workers coming to Vermont to take a Vermont job,” Formalarie said.
Together, more than 300 grants have so far been awarded to “newly settled Vermonters” across the state.
“As we continue to deal with the impact of [Covid-19] on the economy, there’s workforce shortages across a lot of different sectors,” Formalarie said. “I don’t think this is meant as a silver bullet but something that can be helpful.”
The newest version of this program is available to those who relocate to Vermont to take a job in a qualifying occupation on or after July 1. Applicants must fill a “qualifying position” with an employer.
Remote worker grants will be available to those who relocate on or after Feb, 1, 2022, “and work remotely from within Vermont for an out-of-state employer.”
