Montgomery County leaders will host a free Community Resource Fair on Dec. 8 at the Executive Office Building in Rockville, offering residents information on public health, job training, and community services to support inclusivity and address changes at the federal level. (more…)
The City of Gaithersburg has announced it has received a 100 score on the 2024 Municipal Equality Index, which evaluates cities on LGBTQ+ inclusivity in laws, municipal services, and leadership, maintaining its score from 2023.
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
Montgomery County has announced it will temporarily reopen the Wheaton Streetery on Price Avenue to vehicular traffic starting November 25 for winter maintenance, with plans to relaunch the space in late March as a seasonal community area supporting outdoor dining, sustainability, and local businesses. (more…)
Montgomery County officials and partners broke ground on The Chimes at North Bethesda, a planned $86 million development featuring 163 environmentally sustainable rental units, scheduled for completion in 2026. The project, which includes units for households earning up to 80% of the Area Median Income, is supported by public and private funding and aims to address the demand for affordable housing in the area. (more…)
When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
The Triumph Trek at the Rio is the ultimate celebration of strength, recovery and hope — and everyone is invited.
On Sunday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation and Adventist HealthCare Home Care Services will gather at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg for an untimed walk-or-wheel around the accessible lakeside path. This is not a race. Scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, strollers and every pace are welcome, and no one finishes last.
On Monday, a Gaithersburg woman was found guilty of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing her boyfriend and delaying medical aid for over four hours. (more…)
Bark Social, the dog park/bar/coffee shop combo that opened its first location in Pike & Rose back in February 2021 and has opened five total locations as far as Philadelphia, has announced an immediate closure effective today (Thursday, November 21st). The full message can be seen below:
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a house fire on the 12100 block of Livingston Street in Wheaton, where an elderly woman sustained critical burn injuries and later died. (more…)
MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor sent out a community message on Thursday, November 21st regarding the “increased rhetoric and rising anxieties in our community due to the national conversation surrounding immigration and deportation efforts promised by the incoming federal administration.” The message, titled “A Safe and Welcoming Community for All,” can be seen in full below:
Pandas Karate, located in Derwood, has launched a fantastic initiative offering free self-defense seminars for Girl Scout troops in Montgomery County. Owner Daniel Amaguana reports that the response has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants enthusiastic about the valuable skills they are learning. A video showcasing the experience is available below.
On Thursday, Governor Wes Moore announced a $1.8 million investment to enhance Maryland’s cybersecurity talent pipeline, providing hands-on cyber range training at all 16 community colleges, starting with Howard Community College, to prepare over 1,100 professionals, focusing on underrepresented groups and boosting workforce development in a high-demand industry. (more…)
According to the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), a New York man has been arrested for allegedly participating in a $2.3 million gold bar scam targeting an 88-year-old woman and her daughter in Montgomery County, involving fraudulent claims of government investigations and asset transfers. (more…)