SOUTH BURLINGTON – In an effort to keep their best and brightest from leaving the state, many Vermont communities are enacting programs designed to encourage graduating high school and college seniors to stay local and find jobs in town. The programs mainly consist of informational initiatives that aim to “increase the appeal of the jobs already currently available” in the state. No new jobs or incentives are being created, but rather these towns and cities, like South Burlington for one, are asking its residents to appreciate what is already there.

“I think it’s really important that we keep our young workforce from moving to other states,” said Anne Onmuss, one of the South Burlington initiative’s co-founders. “And at the same time we need to prevent any new construction or new businesses from coming in and changing what we love about this great place that we all call home. That means we simply need to remind people about how great things already are.”

The stated goals of the initiative, as stated on its website, are to “Dramatically Increase the Native Population of the State, Prevent the Addition of Any and All New Infrastructure, and Keep Locals Local.”

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