Manufacturing in Vermont: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

Vermont does not license production workers: no licence. This page says what a production worker licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Vermont, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Production work is not licensed. Certifications that travel: forklift (retrained by the employer anyway), OSHA cards, and process certificates such as IPC soldering or ISO auditor training. Nothing to file in Vermont.

What to have ready before you move

• Certificates
• A list of equipment and processes

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no Vermont licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Comparing base pay without shift differentials

Who hires production workers in Vermont

Production workers in Vermont are hired by manufacturers of every kind; the largest hiring is near new plants. The metros with the most of that work are Burlington, South Burlington and Rutland. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Vermont openings page.

For the money side: the median production worker in Vermont earned $41,810 a year ($20 an hour) in May 2024 across 1,570 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Vermont has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 8.75%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Vermont also has a program that pay people to move in: New Relocating Worker Grant (up to $7,500 for moving costs, for people who move to Vermont for a job with a Vermont employer; funded in rounds, closes when the money is gone). Each has a residence condition and a funding round.

Everything about Vermont, on one page

The Vermont page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Vermont employers hiring from out of state.