HARDWICK — On Thursday, March 19, the 2025 Learning Earning Connection Exhibition provided area students with an opportunity to meet local business leaders. In a partnership with Northeast Kingdom Learning Services (NEKLS), HireAbility and Lamoille Health Partners, Hazen Union High School held an apprenticeship style job fair for youth and young adults in the area. Around 23 vendors were present, host to a wide variety of fields organized into categories such as training, education, automotive and transportation, skilled trades and healthcare.
Hazen Union’s Work Based Learning Coordinator Jen Olson said, “Students become more comfortable talking to adults about employment, and really get a chance to explore.”
Opportunities for exploration were abundant, with multiple representatives available from area businesses to talk to students about their prospective careers.
Travis Bowen, representing Cabot Creamery, said the fair allows them to discuss their work-study program for high school seniors and have summer opportunities for other highschoolers.
He continued, “they have a full-time job right after graduating, and it allows them to gain real experience to see if that’s something they actually want to do.”
Youth Employment Specialist Juanita Forant said she ultimately hoped to find a job or internship opportunity for one of her students. “I just wanted to help my students explore, so they can navigate after high school. There are so many opportunities under this roof.”
Area student Winter Bailey said she was most excited about the skilled trades. “But I just like the opportunity to explore.”
Representatives of the skilled trades included Bourne’s Energy, Stowe Electric, Morrisville Water and Light, LWI Metalworks, OSSU Facilities, Lloyd’s Plumbing and Heating and Cabot Creamery.
For those interested in the automotive industry, Lamoille Valley Chevrolet, VTrans, and Casella Waste Management were present. For students interested in healthcare, representatives were available from Northern VT Area Health Education Center, Hardwick Rescue and Copley Hospital.
Education, training, and funding were represented by Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL), the Vermont Student Assistance Program (VSAC), Community College of Vermont (CCV), and Northeast Kingdom Learning Services (NEKLS), Craftsbury Saplings and Hardwick Head Start.
According to Hardwick Learning Center Manager Marina Cole, vendors called the Learning Earning Connection “very successful” and noted that participants were “a great group of young adults who were engaged and truly interested,” according to feedback gathered after the event.
Cole says one student attendee, Payton Putvain, who came prepared with copies of his resume, shared that he left with a job offer that he plans to accept. “I’m excited for it,” Putvain said. “It’s a new opportunity and a different job experience compared to what I’ve done in the past.” Putvain was also excited that this new job is “a lot more money than what I make now.”
The Learning Earning Connection was developed as a collaboration of the work-based learning program at Hazen Union School, HireAbility, Lamoille Health Partners, and Northeast Kingdom Learning Services, and a second annual event for 2026 is already being planned.
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
