Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) Efforts Advance
Beginning in 2008, public and private sector individuals and organizations have been working together under the SeVEDS banner to better understand and affect the regional economy. SeVEDS exists to reverse the economic decline of the region. Low wages, a rising cost of living and limited job opportunities have created a disconnect between the skills needed by employers and the skills held by the Windham region workforce. This has led to a widely held sense of economic insecurity resulting in many looking for economic opportunity elsewhere, and few choosing the Windham region as a place to live and conduct business.
To reverse this trend SeVEDS developed an action plan to:
- Increase the size and quality of the workforce.
- Increase the population proportion of 24-44 year-olds from 23% to 28% of total population by 2017.
- Create an entrepreneurial environment.
- Plan for a Post Vermont Yankee Economy.
The preliminarily five year goals are:
- End Population Decline (2009 = 42,605 est).
- 669 new jobs at $ 43,833 and 446 new jobs at $39,848, or greater (Northern New England Average Wage)
- Improvement of wages for 4,464 jobs by $5,000/yr.
- $69M new wages $141M in new Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Reach regional GDP of $2.8B
- Increase Median Annual Income for Associates/Some College from $26,855 to $32,000
- Increase Median Annual Income for Bachelor’s Degree from $32,518 to $39,000
- Improve the Ratio of Net Earned Income to Total Income from .566 to .65
A copy of the presentation can be found on the Community Development Program page of the WRC website.
SeVEDS board members are from around the Windham Region. Susan McMahon, WRC Associate Director represents WRC on the Board. For more information, or to schedule a presentation, please contact Laura Sibilia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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