Monthly Archives: June 2022

WASHINGTON and TORONTO, June 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JAB Holding Company (JAB) and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax) (TSX: FFH and FFH.U) today announced a transformational strategic partnership, in which JABs pet insurance business has agreed to acquire all of Fairfaxs interests in the Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group (C&F Pet) and Pethealth Inc., including all of their worldwide operations. As part of the transaction, Fairfax will also make a $200 million1 investment in JCP V, JABs latest consumer fund.

As a result of the transaction, in which Fairfax will receive $1.4 billion in the form of $1.15 billion cash and $250 million in seller notes, JABs combined global pet insurance and ecosystem platform will be estimated to have gross written premiums and pet health services revenues of well over $1.2 billion by 2023, insuring more than 2.1 million pets. The pet insurance industry, which has been expanding at a rate of approximately 20% per year on a global basis, is expected to continue to see many years of steady, strong growth, driven by attractive long-term trends in petcare and significant opportunities to expand penetration, especially in the US and Canadian markets which have less than 3% penetration. C&F Pet today insures over 500,000 pets and markets or serves as underwriter for numerous brands, including ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, 24Petprotect, Hartville Pet Insurance, Spot Insurance Services, Pumpkin Insurance Services and PetCoach, LLC (provider of Petco pet insurance plans) in the United States and Pets Plus Us in Canada. Pethealth provides wellbeing and safety solutions to shelters and pet parents under the 24Pet brand, which includes the 24Petwatch Registry with over 20 million registered pets.

Fairfax is very happy to partner with Olivier Goudet and JAB Holding Company, said Prem Watsa, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax. JAB has had an outstanding track record over the past 10 years and we expect this to continue. While we have sold our pet insurance business to JAB, we will invest $200 million in their JCP V to become their partners. We expect JAB to soon become leaders in pet healthcare and pet insurance globally. We wish them much success.

We are extremely excited to partner with Prem and his organization on this transformational transaction, and to welcome them as a partner in our fund, said Olivier Goudet, Managing Partner and CEO of JAB. Prem has an incredible multi-decade track record of building great businesses and compounding returns, and we look forward to accelerating the growth of their pet insurance business as part of our focused pure-play pet insurance platform.

Todays transaction is a major milestone for us in our mission to become a global leader in pet insurance and the pet health ecosystem, said Dirk Beeckman, CEO of JABs pet insurance portfolio. It also significantly advances our mission of providing the leading health and wellbeing ecosystem for pets through the offering of affordable, comprehensive pet products and brands throughout a pets lifecycle. C&F Pets long history of disciplined omni-channel underwriting fits perfectly with our culture, and we look forward to working with the team.

We are extremely proud of what we have built and accomplished together in the animal welfare community and the pet insurance ecosystem, said Gary McGeddy, President of Crum & Forster A&H. We are confident that JAB will continue to invest and focus on pets and pet parents while growing their global presence and we are excited about the future and our partnership.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including various regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

About JAB

JAB Holding Company invests in consumer-focused industries with attractive long-term dynamics, including strong growth prospects, attractive margin and cash flow characteristics, and proven resiliency. Together with JAB Consumer Partners, JAB Holding Company is the largest shareholder of Keurig Dr Pepper, a leader in the North American beverage market, and has controlling stakes in JDE Peets, the largest pure-play fast-moving consumer goods coffee company in the world; NVA, one of the worlds largest animal care services platforms; Independence Pet Group, a leading provider of pet insurance; Krispy Kreme Doughnut, a global leader in doughnuts and other premium-quality sweet treats; Panera Brands, one of the worlds largest fast casual restaurant companies, which includes Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bagels; Pret A Manger, a leading company in the ready-to-eat food market; and Espresso House, the largest branded coffee shop chain in Scandinavia. JAB Holding Company is also the largest shareholder in Coty Inc., a global leader in beauty, and owns luxury goods company Bally.

About Fairfax

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management.

About Crum & Forster Pet

For over 20 years, Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group has been committed to helping people get access to reliable and affordable pet insurance plans. From routine exams to unexpected illnesses, our plans are available to pet parents of cats and dogs. Plans are customizable based on individual needs, including coverage levels, policy limits, and deductibles. We pride ourselves on pioneering new advancements in the industry. Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group is founding member of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Pethealth Inc. offers pet services through two brands 24Pet and VioVet. 24Pet are the experts in lost pet solutions, pet adoptions, animal welfare and shelter support. A family of platforms, services, products, and people, obsessed with pets. From connecting them with loving families, to protecting and helping keep them happy, healthy, and home. VioVet is a UK registered veterinary online pet retailer that offers a variety of pet and horse supplies, including prescription and non-prescription medications, supplements, food, toys and more.

About Independence Pet Group

Independence Pet Group is an integrated, full-stack pet insurance platform indirectly majority owned by JAB Holding Company. It offers a comprehensive range of underwriting options, turnkey partner solutions, and consumer-facing insurance products through its wholly own subsidiary, Independence American Insurance Company, a leading provider of underwriting services to the pet insurance sector with licenses in all 50 states. It also is a majority shareholder in Pet Partners, Inc., which distributes and administers through world-class pet insurance brands AKC Pet Insurance and its worksite brand, PetPartners. PetPartners in turn owns Figo, a leading direct-to-consumer brand which utilizes a highly engaging and mobile friendly Pet Cloud that allows consumers to manage their pet's healthcare, socially engage with fellow pet parents, and easily discover and locate services within the pet ecosystem, and Third Party Pet, providing business services to breeders, pet retailers and their customers ranging from live pet inventory management software, scheduling and facilitating adoptions, micro-chip and registration services and customized pet products.

Media Contacts

JAB: Tom Johnson or Jake Yanulis, Abernathy MacGregor, tbj@abmac.com or jjy@abmac.com

Crum & Forster Pet: Hallie Harenski, Head of Corporate Communications at mediainquiries@cfins.com

Fairfax: John Varnell, Vice President, Corporate Development at (416) 367-4941

Independence Pet Group: Amanda Trcka, Marketing Communications and PR Manager at (203) 231-9975 or atrcka@petpartners.com

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Particularly, statements about the transaction described above and the terms thereof (including relating to the terms, conditions and the timing for closing of the proposed transaction described above) are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Fairfax to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: failure to complete the transaction described above which is subject to customary conditions; reduction in net earnings if our loss reserves are insufficient; underwriting losses on the risks we insure that are higher or lower than expected; the occurrence of catastrophic events with a frequency or severity exceeding our estimates; changes in market variables, including interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices and credit spreads, which could negatively affect our investment portfolio; risks associated with the global pandemic caused by a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19), and the related global reduction in commerce and substantial downturns in stock markets worldwide; the cycles of the insurance market and general economic conditions, which can substantially influence our and our competitors premium rates and capacity to write new business; insufficient reserves for asbestos, environmental and other latent claims; exposure to credit risk in the event our reinsurers fail to make payments to us under our reinsurance arrangements; exposure to credit risk in the event our insureds, insurance producers or reinsurance intermediaries fail to remit premiums that are owed to us or failure by our insureds to reimburse us for deductibles that are paid by us on their behalf; our inability to maintain our long term debt ratings, the inability of our subsidiaries to maintain financial or claims paying ability ratings and the impact of a downgrade of such ratings on derivative transactions that we or our subsidiaries have entered into; risks associated with implementing our business strategies; the timing of claims payments being sooner or the receipt of reinsurance recoverables being later than anticipated by us; risks associated with any use we may make of derivative instruments; the failure of any hedging methods we may employ to achieve their desired risk management objective; a decrease in the level of demand for insurance or reinsurance products, or increased competition in the insurance industry; the impact of emerging claim and coverage issues or the failure of any of the loss limitation methods we employ; our inability to access cash of our subsidiaries; our inability to obtain required levels of capital on favourable terms, if at all; the loss of key employees; our inability to obtain reinsurance coverage in sufficient amounts, at reasonable prices or on terms that adequately protect us; the passage of legislation subjecting our businesses to additional adverse requirements, supervision or regulation, including additional tax regulation, in the United States, Canada or other jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with government investigations of, and litigation and negative publicity related to, insurance industry practice or any other conduct; risks associated with political and other developments in foreign jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with legal or regulatory proceedings or significant litigation; failures or security breaches of our computer and data processing systems; the influence exercisable by our significant shareholder; adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on independent brokers over whom we exercise little control; impairment of the carrying value of our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or investments in associates; our failure to realize deferred income tax assets; technological or other change which adversely impacts demand, or the premiums payable, for the insurance coverages we offer; disruptions of our information technology systems; assessments and shared market mechanisms which may adversely affect our insurance subsidiaries; adverse consequences to our business, our investments and our personnel resulting from or related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the failure to complete or realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction described above. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in Fairfaxs most recently issued Annual Report which is available at http://www.fairfax.ca and in Fairfaxs Base Shelf Prospectus (under Risk Factors) filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which is available on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com. Fairfax disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law.

1 All dollar amounts in the news release are expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

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JAB's Pet Insurance Business to Acquire Global Pet Insurance Operations of Fairfax Financial, Expanding Its Presence in the Fast-Growing Industry -...

Ruchita Sahukari has all her life battled a rare disease called Osteogenesis imperfecta. The condition leaves a person with fragile bones that break easily. After a troubled childhood due to her disability, which made schooling difficult, Ruchita now has one mission in life to ensure no child misses out on education due to physical disabilities.

Ruchita's studies were compromised while growing up because none of the schools that she tried to take admission in were willing to admit students with special needs.

Ruchita, who recently turned 22, has started a petition on change.org urging the government to make schools and colleges inclusive for all. She wants to ensure that no child ever has to compromise on education due to their physical disabilities.

Osteogenesis imperfecta is an inherited or a genetic bone disorder that is present at birth, and is also known as brittle bone disease.

A child suffering from this condition may have soft bones that break or fracture easily, bones that are not formed normally, and other problems. The symptoms of Osteogenesis imperfecta include easily broken bones, bone deformities, discoloration of the white region of the eye, a barrel-shaped chest, a curved spine, a triangle-shaped face, loose joints, muscle weakness, skin that easily bruises, hearing loss in early adulthood, and soft, discoloured teeth, among others.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, complications may affect most body systems in a child with Osteogenesis imperfecta. The complications may include respiratory infections such as pneumonia, heart problems such as poor heart valve function, kidney stones, joint problems, hearing loss, and eye conditions and vision loss. Due to her condition, Ruchita's eyes are discoloured. She has blue sclera and eyesight problems.

Her petition titled 'Schools and colleges that don't become fully inclusive should be derecognized' is addressed to Dr Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, and Dr Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education. Through her petition, she is urging the government to make classrooms on the ground floor of school and college buildings, introduce elevators, and set up ramps and disable-friendly access points for water and washrooms.

Ruchita could not study in a school because all the schools she approached refused to take her in due to her condition. "I took NGO support to move ahead in my career," Ruchita told ABP Live.

Born in 2000, in Srikakulam district of Palasa in Andhra Pradesh, Ruchita underwent treatment for Osteogenesis imperfecta at AIIMS, New Delhi, from 2001 to 2005. Every time her bones fractured, her parents had to rush her to the hospital. Later on, her parents could not take her to the hospital every time her bones broke, because of financial constraints. Therefore, they started bandaging her at home. She said many people in her hometown considered her a "burden" to her parents.

Ruchita received most of her primary education through home tuition. In 2019, she approached an NGO called Amritavarshini. Based in Kerala, the NGO made Ruchita aware of distance education. The same year, in the month of June, she wrote a Bachelor's Preparatory Programme (BPP) examination. This programme is offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to those students who wish to take admission in an undergraduate course from IGNOU but do not have the essential qualification of having passed 10+2. "The programme is equivalent to 10+2. It takes six months to complete the course. I enrolled myself in the programme in June 2019, and passed the examination after six months. In June 2020, I joined a Bachelor's course under IGNOU," Ruchita said.

She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and Sociology from IGNOU, and is in second year. "I need to write my exams at a study centre in Odisha because there is no study centre in my town," she said.

Ruchita believes that everyone should have the right to education no matter their condition, and this is what motivated her to start the petition. "I hope that schools and colleges will become accessible to all and I want them to become aware that education is a basic fundamental right for everyone. My only purpose is to make education accessible to all," she said.

Ruchita added that in India, many parents are not aware of how to handle a child with special needs, and hopes that her petition will help raise awareness. She said that due to her condition, she could neither enjoy a social life nor go to school. Her aim is to ensure that no other child suffers the same fate as her.

"I expect to bring a change in society, and the first step will be from schools and colleges. They must become aware of disabilities and accept people with special needs. They should be accessible to all, and have elevators and ramps," Ruchita further said.

She also wants the government to introduce more laws for children with special needs, and derecognise the schools and colleges that do not accept disabled children.

Fortunately, Ruchita's condition has improved since 2018. She wants all children with special needs to be physically independent. "My dream is to achieve physical and financial independence in future," she said.

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Meet Ruchita Sahukari: 22-Year-Old With Osteogenesis Imperfecta Fighting To Make Education Accessible To All - ABP Live

SOITEC

AVAILABILITY OF THE 2021-2022 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT INCLUDING THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS OF DIRECTORS PROPOSED AT THE SHAREHOLDERS' GENERAL MEETING OF JULY 26, 2022

Bernin (Grenoble), France, June 20, 2022 Soitec (Euronext Paris), a world leader in the design and manufacturing of innovative semiconductor materials, today announces the publication of its 2021-2022 Universal Registration Document for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, filed on June 20, 2022 in European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) with the French financial markets authority (Autorit des marchs financiers AMF) under number D.22-0523.

The French version of the 2021-2022 Universal Registration Document is available for consultation on the Companys website (www.soitec.com), under Investisseurs Informations actionnaires Assembles Gnrales 2022 AGOE 26 juillet 2022. It is also available on the website of the AMF (www.amf-france.org).

An English courtesy translation for information purposes is available for consultation on the Companys website (www.soitec.com), under Investors Shareholders Information Annual General Meetings 2022 SOITEC O&EGM 07.26.2022, at the following link: https://www.soitec.com/en/investors/financial-reports/2021-2022.

Copies of the Universal Registration Document are also available at the Company's registered office: Parc Technologique des Fontaines, Chemin des Franques, 38190 Bernin, France.

The Universal Registration Document notably contains:

the annual financial report, comprising the management report, the consolidated and statutory financial statements and related Statutory Auditors reports, information on the fees paid to the Statutory Auditors and the declaration by the person responsible for the Universal Registration Document;

the Board of Directors report on corporate governance;

the description of the share buyback program;

the consolidated statement of non-financial performance;

the information relating to the Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders General Meeting of July 26, 2022; and

the list of appointments and reappointments of directors approved by the Board of Directors that will be submitted to the shareholders vote at the Annual General Meeting of July 26, 2022.

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Board assessment

In accordance with the recommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF Code and the Board of Directors Internal Regulation, the Board of Directors performs an annual assessment of its composition, organization and operation, as well as those of its Committees.

In addition, as announced in January 2022, the Board of Directors appointed Christophe Ggout, in his capacity as an independent director, and Ledconseil, represented by Juliette dAboville, in its capacity as an external governance expert, to examine its governance processes and structure.

Following completion of the process carried out over several weeks, the expert issued a series of recommendations, notably confirming the Boards intention to propose to the July 26, 2022 Shareholders General Meeting to appoint new directors who will raise the level of independence of the Board of Directors and its Committees so that they comply with the AFEP-MEDEF Code.

The Board of Directors also intends to appoint a Lead Independent Director further to the appointments of the new directors. Among other things, the Board intends to organize joint training for Board and Executive Committee members on governance rules and issues related to the code of conduct. The Board of Directors approved all of these recommendations and worked on an implementation timetable, with the aim of them being fully deployed by the end of fiscal year 2022-2023.

Composition of the Board of DirectorsIn accordance with the recommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF Code to which it refers, Soitecs Board of Directors regularly reviews whether the Board and its Committees have a balanced membership structure, in order to assure shareholders and the market that it carries out its duties with due care, independence and objectivity, with proper regard to the Groups imperatives and strategy.

Taking advantage of the fact that the terms of office of eight directors are due to expire at the Shareholders General Meeting to be held on July 26, 2022, the Board has therefore decided to rework its membership structure and create a better balance between independent members and members representing Soitecs value chain (i.e., with directors representing suppliers, strategic shareholders and independent minority shareholders). At the same time, it is seeking to retain its diverse membership and varied, cross-sector and complementary skills.

Through its proposals, the Board is aiming to achieve a proportion of independent directors exceeding 58% and to have a majority of independent directors on all of its Committees, while ensuring a smooth staggering of directors terms of office, in accordance with the recommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF Code, by proposing a mixture of three-year and exceptionally in order to implement staggered terms this year four-year terms, subject to the adoption of the associated amendments to the Companys by-laws.

The Boards proposals relating to changes in its composition are as follows:

Appointment Pierre Barnab for a four-year term; Pierre Barnab will also replace Paul Boudre as the Groups Chief Executive Officer at the close of the Shareholders General Meeting of July26,2022.

Reappointment of Bpifrance Participations as a director for a three-year term; if reappointed by the Shareholders General Meeting, Bpifrance Participations would designate Samuel Dalens as its permanent representative.

Appointment of CEA Investissement, a long-standing partner of Soitec, as a director for a three-year term; if appointed by the Shareholders General Meeting, CEA Investissement would designate its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Franois Jacq, as its permanent representative.

Appointment of Fonds Stratgique de Participations (FSP) as an independent director for a three-year term; FSP is an investment company held by seven French insurance companies; if appointed by the Shareholders General Meeting, FSP has stated that it intends to appoint Laurence Delpy as its permanent representative.

Reappointment of Christophe Ggout as an independent director for a four-year term.

Appointment of Maude Portigliatti as an independent director for a four-year term; Maude Portigliatti is currently Executive Vice President of Michelins High-Tech Materials business.

Appointment of Delphine Segura, as an independent director for a four-year term; Delphine Segura is Senior Executive Vice President of Human Resources at SEB and a member of its Executive Committee.

Reappointment of Kai Seikku, appointed by NSIG, as a director, for a three-year term.

Subject to the adoption of the proposed appointments and reappointments by the shareholders, the composition of the Board of Directors at the close of the July 26, 2022 Shareholders General Meeting would comply with the recommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF Code, as follows:

7 out of the 12 Board members would be independent (excluding the employee directors, who are not included in this calculation), i.e., 58%, compared to 42% currently;

5 out of the 12 Board members (excluding employee directors) would be women, i.e., 42%, which is higher than the minimum ratio of 40% required under the French Commercial Code;

4 out of 6 of the members of the Audit and Risks Committee (excluding employee directors) would be independent directors, i.e., 67%, compared to 57% currently;

3 members of the Compensation Committee (excluding employee directors) would be independent directors, i.e., 100%, compared to 50% currently;

4 out of 7 of the members of the Nomination and Governance Committee would be independent directors, i.e., 57% independent, compared with 43% currently.

In addition to the diverse and complementary profiles of its members, the Board of Directors would comprise five different nationalities (American, Belgian, Japanese, Finnish and French).

Lastly, the staggering of directors terms of office would be further optimized, as follows:

The terms of office of Paul Boudre, Laurence Delpy, Guillemette Picard, Thierry Sommelet and Jeffrey Wang, which are set to expire at the close of the Shareholders General Meeting of 26 July, 2022, will not be renewed. The Board of Directors wishes to place on record its warm thanks to the outgoing directors for their contributions.

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Agenda

First-quarter 2022-2023 revenue: July 25, 2022, after market close.

Shareholders General Meeting: July 26, 2022.

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About Soitec

Soitec (Euronext, Tech 40 Paris) is a world leader in designing and manufacturing innovative semiconductor materials. The company uses its unique technologies to serve the electronics markets. With more than 3,700 patents worldwide, Soitecs strategy is based on disruptive innovation to meet its customers needs for high performance, energy efficiency and cost competitiveness. Soitec has manufacturing facilities, R&D centers and offices in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Soitec and Smart Cut are registered trademarks of Soitec.

For more information, please visit http://www.soitec.com and follow us on Twitter: @Soitec_EN

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Soitec is a French joint-stock corporation with a Board of Directors (socit anonyme conseil dadministration) with share capital of 70,301,160, having its registered office located at Parc Technologique des Fontaines - Chemin des Franques - 38190 Bernin (France), and registered with the Grenoble Trade and Companies Register under number 384 711 909.

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Attachment

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AVAILABILITY OF THE 2021-2022 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT INCLUDING THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS OF...

Want to make great money in Vermont? Go to medical school.

That's the clear lesson to be learned from a list of the top 25 highest paying jobs in Vermont, compiled by Mat Barewicz, labor market information director for the Vermont Department of Labor. The top 11 slots on Barewicz's list are occupied by members of the medical profession, led by ophthalmologists. These doctors earned amedian wage of $100 per hour, which translates to $208,000 annually.

Barewicz said the salaries on the list are based on 52 weeks of a 40-hour work week, for a total of 2,080 hours.

As a reminder, median wage is the point at which 50% of the wages are less than and 50% of the wages are more.All median wages on the list are from 2021. Barewicz said all of the medical professionals are listed at $100 per hour because of the limitations of the survey.

"Eventually the grid runs out, that's why it can't be a precise estimate," he said. "(The salaries are) somewhere beyond the stratosphere."

Barewicz compiles the list not for those who already know they can command $200,000 or more annually, but for the rest of us, the majority who don't make that kind of money. He also compiles lists of the occupations that employed the most people in Vermont, the occupations expected to have the fastest rate of growth through 2028, and the occupations expected to have the most annual job openings through 2028. The lists are intended to help Vermonters figure out what they want to be when they grow up.

"The whole purpose of our division is not to tell you what to do, we don't know you, your family or your circumstances," Barewicz said. "But we can provide information to help you make the best decision for you in your situation."

The stranglehold on income in Vermont held by orthopedic surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, anesthesiologists and other doctorsis only broken when we get to, of all things,physicists,who had a 2021 median hourly wage of $92.84, or about $193,000 annually.

Barewicz said there were 41 physicists in Vermontas of 2018, the latest data available, with three more job openings expected annually through 2028. The largest share of the physicists in Vermont 40% are involved in commercializing scientific research by developing products or services. Another 20% are academics and another 20% work for the federal government. Barewicz doesn't know the circumstances of the remaining 20%.

The largest category of high earners in Vermont are chief executives, with a median hourly wage of $63.67, or an annual salary of about $132,500. There were 1,208 CEOs in Vermont as of 2018, with another 74 openings expected annually through 2028. All other managers in Vermont made a median hourly salary of $50.61, or an annual salary of about $105,000.

Yes, computer hardware engineers are on the list of highest paying jobs in Vermont, coming in with a median hourly wage of $61.39, or about $128,000 annually.

The fastest growing occupation in Vermont is personal care aides and home health aides, not surprising given Vermont's aging demographic. These aides make a median hourly wage of $14.44, or about $30,000 annually. Solar photovoltaic installers are third on the fastest growing list, making $18.11 per hour, or about $37,600 annually.

Software developers, third on the list,make a median hourly wage of $47.70, or about $99,000 annually. Computer numerically controlled (CNC) tool programmers a staple in Vermont's manufacturing sector make a median hourly salary of $29.40, or about $61,000 annually. If you love animals, veterinarians are on the fastest growing list, making a median hourly salary of $47.32, or about $98,500 annually.

Barewicz points out that low-paying jobs are by no means a dead end. Take those solar installers for example, making about 18 bucks an hour.

"That might not sound super high, but you're talking about a high school degree, these are people who are 19," Barewicz said. "Within a few years you could be starting your own company doing solar installations."

Guess what occupation tops both the "Largest Employment" and "Most Openings" list? Cashiers, making a median hourly wage of $13.74 per hour, or about $28,500 annually. Again, Barewicz speaks up for low-paying jobs. He was a cashier himself, he said, at the local grocery store all the way through high school.

"That's where I got my start," Barewicz said. "I could have made more at fast food, but that was where I thought I would be successful."

There were 9,527 cashiers in Vermont as of 2018, most of them, hopefully, on their way to bigger and better careers like Barewicz. The biggest occupation by far making good money is registered nurses. There were 6,778 nurses in 2018 making a median hourly wage of $36.24, or about $75,000 annually. Basically we're talking about the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Another relatively high paying occupation with lots of Vermonters doing it is general and operations managers. There are 3,615 of those in the state, making an median hourly wage of $36.85, or about $76,600 annually.

Registered nurses and general and operations managers are also the two best paying jobs expected to have the most openings through 2028 431 annual openings for nurses and 332 annual openings for managers. The career path to becoming a registered nurse is obviously more clearly defined than the path to becoming a general and operations manager.

Barewicz said when he talks to Vermont employers about the skills they're looking for, the three he hears about most are:

"Those are three core skills that never do you wrong in any situation, and are not captured in this skill data," he said. "(Employers tell me), 'Give me someone who can show up on time, work well with others and follow instructions and we will train them and put them on a path to financial independence.'"

Contact Dan DAmbrosio at 802-660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

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Who makes the most money in Vermont? What skills are most desirable? - Burlington Free Press