On Tuesday afternoon Lt. Governor Phil Scott hosted the Vermont Young Professional Economy Pitch, wherein members of Vermont’s young professional community pitched ideas to legislators with a hope that economic development ideas may be sparked.

While describing the event, Scott said that the event was a mix of speed dating and the television show ‘Shark Tank’, as each young professional was given five minutes to make a pitch.

The pitches were mainly dominated by a lack of young Vermonters staying in Vermont and young non-Vermonters moving to Vermont. Most of the speakers addressed it as a major problem area and then came up with a lot of ideas for how to address the issue.

The co-founder and director of strategy for Stonecutters Spirits in Middlebury, Sas Stewart, said that the median age in Vermont is 42, and that they are the second-oldest state in the nation.

Further, she said that in 2020, millennials will make up one in every three adult Americans and will be making up 75% of the workforce by 2025.

According to Edmar Mendizabel, a professional video game developer and founder of the Vermont Game Developers Association, Vermont’s tourism department has been doing a wonderful job in attracting tourists to visit Vermont, but unfortunately, the problem is that most young people do not view Vermont as an affordable or practical place to live.

On Tuesday, Erynn Hazlett, a recruiter for the Vermont Army National Guard, and at the Economy Pitch, said that while growing up in a small town she faced difficulty in finding professionals who would engage in quality conversation with her outside the bar scene or local gas station.

She said that Vermont is no more a vibrant spot for young people and that the youth that are here struggle to have their voices heard.