In Vermont, there are about two job openings for every unemployed person. That's according to Michael Harrington, commissioner of the state Department of Labor, who shared the statistic with an audience of roughly 60 people on a recent Thursday afternoon at Generator Makerspace in Burlington's South End. The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center cohosted the event, titled "Advanced Manufacturing Day — Can We Make It?," at which business leaders gathered to discuss one of the major obstacles facing local manufacturers: Vermont's labor shortage. "Unlike other states, our biggest challenge is the number of people in our workforce," Harrington told the crowd. "How do we attract new people to Vermont, to grow Vermont's workforce? We're not going to be able to do it from within." Like in America's Rust Belt, Vermont's manufacturing sector has declined markedly over the past few decades. An average of 28,500 Vermonters worked in manufacturing in 2023, compared with 46,300 in 2000, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That drop is despite a proliferation of local tech companies producing everything from electric aircraft to industrial robotics. Across the country, the prevailing narrative about disappearing manufacturing jobs has been displaced by a new challenge: getting American workers back into those hands-on jobs. As both sides of the political aisle look to invest in U.S. manufacturing and the sector has begun to rebound, the domestic workforce has not kept pace. There will be a projected 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs in the U.S. by 2030, according to a joint study by financial services and consulting company Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that aims to strengthen America's manufacturing workforce. The report attributes the shortage to an aging workforce, insufficient job training programs and a general lack of interest in manufacturing careers. Those problems are amplified in Vermont, the second-least populous state and where more than a third of residents are over the age of 54. "I personally just get tired of saying, 'There isn't anybody. We can't find anybody,'" Julie LaForce, co-owner of hardwood furniture manufacturer Built by Newport, told the crowd. "I really just try to focus on staying patient, staying really diligent and finding the right folks for our team." Tino Rutanhira, cofounder of the Vermont Professionals of Color Network, acknowledged that Vermont's small population sometimes necessitates employers to search for out-of-state hires. But asking someone to relocate for a…