Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 3. An assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers means summarizing Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) characteristics (including if they are predominantly from certain countries, what language(s) they speak, the approximate number of MSFWs in the State during peak season and during low season, and whether they tend to be migrant, seasonal, or year-round farmworkers). This information must take into account data supplied by WIOA Section 167 National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) grantees, other MSFW organizations, employer organizations, and State and/or Federal agency data sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration
Current Narrative:
Vermont primarily sees MSFW’s from Jamaica and Puerto Rico responding to H-2A job orders. The majority of identified crop workers (about 530). The number of domestic MSFWs in Vermont is difficult to estimate and could be understated as some of these workers cannot be located or may be incorrectly self-reported in the Vermont MIS Vermont JobLink. Some of the workers may meet the guidelines of seasonal farm workers, the number of which is anticipated to be approximately 100 or less. This takes into account information from PathStone, the National Farmworkers Jobs Program (NFJP), Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) section 167 grantee. During peak season (June - October) there are roughly 330 MSFWs, while there are approximately 200 MSFWs. The majority of MSFWs speak English, with Spanish being the second and Jamaican Creole being the third most commonly used language. The majority of the MSFWs in Vermont are seasonal workers, with only a few dozen identified as migrant.