Bennington Composites Industry Looks For More Workers

(Host) Over the past decade more than a third of Vermont's manufacturing jobs have disappeared. 

Bennington is trying to reverse that trend.

It's attracted several companies working in "carbon fiber composites" - ultra strong, ultra-light materials used in industry.

VPR's Susan Keese has more.

(Keese) The 20 or so adult students logging on to the computers at Community College of Vermont in Bennington aren't taking night classes in hopes of landing an office jobs.

"And then if you scroll down you're going to look for the link that says 'enter here.'"

(Man) What do I have to type in here?" 

(Morse) "I'm going to help you temporarily."

(Keese) About half of them are already employed - by five or six Bennington County companies in the fast growing composite industry.

Chet Phillips drove truck for a feed store before he was hired by Plasan Carbon Composites. Plasan has two branches in bennington. This one makes light-weight armor for U.S. military vehicles.

(Phillips) "Right now I'm a truck driver and I do shipping and receiving also. So I'm hoping to further myself in the company."

(Keese) Phillips says he's never needed to use a computer before. But he's never worked at a company with so much room for advancement.

(Phillips) "And the pay's good, the people are good, the company's good to work for, so..."

(Keese) Ken Lonergan is currently unemployed. A former chef, he's looking for security and manageable hours.

(Lonergan)"I've heard from a friend who works at Plasan, that they're going to be needing 100 people in the next year and they have no clue where they're going to get them from."

Peter Odierna is with the Bennington County Industrial Corporation. The agency has worked to grow it's so-called "composite cluster."  O'Dierna says about 500 local people work in composites now, making vehicles, hospital equipment, equipment for the aeronautics industry.

He says the companies are getting ready to grow in response to demands for lighter, more fuel efficient vehicles and equipment.

(Odierna) "And it's critically important  for our community to get more engaged with this industry so the critical component of the availability of skilled labor can be met going forward."

(Keese) Odierna says the companies have complained about the level of employee turnover, and the difficulty of finding workers who can hit the ground running when they're are hired.

The community college course teaches computer literacy and communication. Technical training in composites is offered at the Bennington Career Development Center.

For VPR News, I'm Susan Keese.

(Host Outro) The Bennington County Industrial Corporation is planning a public forum on January 24, to discuss the opportunities in the Composites industry.