Pathways to Stay: Creating Meaningful Early-Career Opportunities in Vermont

Vermont’s future workforce is already here, and many young people want to build their lives and careers in the state. The question is how employers and educators can create visible pathways that make staying in Vermont a viable and exciting choice.

Hosted by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) and the University of Vermont’s Sustainable Innovation MBA Program, this panel discussion will explore how high-quality, paid early-career and work-based learning experiences, such as internships, apprenticeships, and first jobs, can support program completion, career clarity, and long-term connection to Vermont.

This discussion will include practical insights on:

• What quality first work experiences look like in practice
• How employers can participate in and scale work-based learning
• Supporting multiple pathways, including non–four-year degree careers
• Why messaging, mentorship, and culture matter as much as compensation

This conversation is designed for employers and students interested in strengthening Vermont’s workforce through investments in early-career opportunities.

Come for the discussion and stay for the delicious drinks, networking, and shared learning!

All Vermont business leaders and students are welcome. This is a great opportunity to meet and network with UVM SI-MBA students and alumni! We will have plenty of time for networking and connecting with one another before and after the panel in the beautiful atrium of Kalkin Hall.

Food & Drinks

There will be complimentary drinks including hot tea and coffee, in addition to delicious appetizers and desserts, including gluten free and vegan options! Courtesy of the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business.

Thank you to our host!

The Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) at the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business is the leading program for emerging change-makers who believe business can, and must, become a force for good. Our accelerated, one-year program integrates sustainable business practices across disciplines, focusing on the essential toolkit needed to manage — and transform — business.

SI-MBA graduates jump back into the world making an impact in half the time and with half the cost of a traditional MBA. They become change agents in fields as diverse as impact investing, sustainable development, mission-driven marketing, supply chain management, nonprofit management, and other socially responsible business functions.

During the full-time, on-campus program, SI-MBA students gain unique access to Vermont’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Students learn from sustainable business leaders working to transform business into a force for good. We continually revise our curriculum and extracurricular activities with input from leading sustainability thought leaders. The SI-MBA experience is capped off with a practicum project, where students work on consulting engagements within sustainable businesses across Vermont, the US, and beyond.

Our program is currently recognized as the #1 Better World MBA in the United States and #2 globally, by Corporate Knights. Additionally, our program has been and continues to be the U.S.’s highest ranked green MBA program accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the most prestigious accrediting body for business programs. Only 5% of programs worldwide earn this honor. AACSB accreditation means that our curriculum, faculty, and program governance regularly pass an in-depth review by academic business experts.

Businesses of the future need to work for people and the planet. For that to happen, we need to evolve how business is taught. That’s what we’re here to do. .

Parking

Free parking is available on site in the parking lot highlighted in orange on the map below, the Faculty/Staff lot behind Votey Hall (includes spots for accessible parking).

From highway:

Take Exit 14W off 1-89 on us Rte 2W /Main Street Williston Road. Travel 0.6 miles and take right onto University Place. When the road ends, take a right onto Colchester Avenue and take the first right into the Votey Parking Lot (indicated with yellow star).

From downtown Burlington:

Travel uphill on US Route 2E/Main street, turn left onto South Williams

Street. Take a right onto Pearl street/Colchester Ave. After passing

University Place, take the first night into the Votey Parking Lot (indicated with yellow star).

Questions? Contact .

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Host or Publisher Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR)