Our Work & Partners
Overcoming Vermont’s workforce challenges is a mission that requires the talents and support of many stakeholders. Our model aligns these contributions and amplifies them into something much bigger than we could accomplish on our own.
Our Partners
Our Model: How Serve Learn Earn Works
Serve Learn Earn is a workforce development collaborative made up of nonprofit organizations around Vermont. By deciding to work together on an on-going basis, SLE’s partners gain a platform to elevate the work that they’re each doing as well as collectively building a movement toward paid service and training opportunities in Vermont. It’s an innovative approach that’s already producing important results.
Within our collective-impact model, each partner commits substantial time and energy to Serve Learn Earn. Each organization runs SLE-specific programs to help participants gain skills and opportunities, and each also serves on SLE committees to help guide our efforts.
Within a culture of trust and transparency, SLE partners share data and financial information, as well as openly participating in learning communities for best practices.
While our partners invest equally in Serve Learn Earn, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps provides an administrative home for the program and all SLE staff operate under the VYCC umbrella.
Our state funding is administered through Forest, Parks & Recreation, a division of the Agency of Natural Resources. We would not be able to do this work without FPR and ANR’s partnership, trust, and deep commitment to this work.
What does it mean to Serve Learn Earn
Serve: We serve on many levels. Our partner organizations serve by providing pathways to education and high-paying work, all to build a stronger and more equitable workforce. Our participants serve by learning durable and critical skills that are in high demand, all while completing projects that provide a public good and strengthen Vermont’s communities.
Learn: Every SLE program has a curriculum that either offers an introduction to or an advancement of the skills of a specific career or professional sector. In addition, SLE programs include intentional opportunities for personal growth and durable/soft skill development. Participants learn from teachers with real-world experience in the field and knowledge of current trends, as well as the ability to connect participants to employers.
Earn: If our programs are going to be accessible to everyone, compensation is an essential part of the mix. Serve Learn Earn’s programs offer a vast array of compensation opportunities, including traditional wages and stipends, AmeriCorps stipends and awards, funding for food, transportation, accommodations, and equipment; college and/or high school credit; healthcare; and more.
AmeriCorps
Some of our programs at VYCC, ReSOURCE, and Audubon are supported by AmeriCorps. We value the expanded opportunities that we can offer through AmeriCorps in partnership with SerVermont, The Corps Network, and the YouthBuild USA program, and together we are building a broader network of paid training and service opportunities in Vermont.
Our Collaborators
Across the state, we work with a diverse network of nonprofits, educational institutions, state agencies, and employers to provide the best experience for our participants. Some of our collaborators include:
