Middlebury, Vermont - March 15, 2011
A new company imported from France and located appropriately on Exchange Street, eCorp English opened its doors in Middlebury.
"Because of the town very interesting people are attracted and the college itself is known for its language capacity, so the combination for us was golden," said Deborah Schwarz, the president of eCorp English.
eCorp specializes in English language training for global companies like Google, IBM and UPS. eCorp teaches nonnative English speakers to translate their skills in order to function in an English speaking business environment.
"To do presentations, to negotiate in English, to do conference calls, to attend conferences; our job is to teach them to do their job in English," Schwarz said.
The company brought with it 35 new jobs to Vermont and expects to add an additional 100 or more by 2013.
Employees at eCorp will facilitate language training via internet software, helping clients practice via telephone or in an online virtual class.
"That's got to be our single mission is growing jobs and making sure that our kids and our neighbors have a bright economic future in this state," said Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vermont.
The company received hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic development loans from the state, a $200,000 loan from the federal technology loan fund for small tech companies and several private equity investments.
Schwarz says Middlebury College's language program was a deciding factor in where to relocate the company.
"It's a magical connection because they're the world's experts in language training and we can work with students as interns and the work force has a lot of the capacities we need," Schwarz said.
"Vermont kids want to stay here, they just want a good job that will keep them here," Shumlin said.
Shumlin says the jobs eCorp English will bring is exactly what Vermont's economy needs-- high paying technical jobs that will keep young employees here and allow Vermont to compete in the global business market.
eCorp English plans to hire another 25 to 30 people in the coming months. Board members say they expect more jobs will open as business gets underway.
Susie Steimle - WCAX News
