On October 15 at approximately 4:15 pm, Takoma Park Police responded to a theft scheme reported at Ria Money Exchange, located inside Megamart Supermarket in the 1100 block of University Blvd. The incident occurred on October 13, 2024, around 3:30 pm.
Montgomery Parks is inviting people of all ages and abilities to join birding activities during Birdability Week, October 21-27, 2024. The fifth annual event is a national recognition of the accessibility of birding to people of all abilities and experiences.
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?”
MCPS High School Sports Scores for Oct 16, 2024:
Kelly’s Cajun Grill is now open at Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd) in Bethesda. (more…)
We’ve Got the Ticket to Every Sunday Showdown! 🏈🔥
Catch every live out-of-market Sunday game with NFL Sunday Ticket this football season at Lucky Strike Rockville!
Bring your family and friends to our free , all-day outdoor Oktoberfest celebration. These will be an outdoor craft fair featuring local artisans and professional woodworkers, a chainsaw carving, woodworking and tool demonstrations by Festool, Montgomery Wood Turners and Carvers. There will also be lots of delicious food provided by El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster's Ice cream and seasonal craft brews from Saints Row Brwsing Company.
The Damascus Placemaking Festival, a free, two-day community, takes place on Saturday, October 19 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, October 20, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival will take place along one block of Main Street in Damascus (9801 Main St, Damascus, MD 20872).
A retired federal employee is $200,000 richer after purchasing a winning lottery scratch-off from the 7-Eleven at 29969 Three Notch Road in Charlotte Hall, MD. Full story below courtesy MD Lottery: (more…)
For Reader’s Digest’s eight ‘Nicest Places in America’ annual contest, the magazine started by asking readers to be “scouts around the country and send us your nominations for the nicest places you know.” The magazine’s editorial team vets each place carefully, whittling down the list with the help of its panel of judges (including the Today’s Show Al Roker) “who know a thing or two about niceness themselves.” This year, the list included one place in Maryland.
The Takoma Park Police Department has provided an update to its investigation of “Threats of Mass Violence” made by Yonas Alemseged Harris when he sent emails to Montgomery College and the Montgomery County Police Department threatening to “shoot up” the school.
On Wednesday, Cynthia Moore, of Montgomery Village was found guilty of six counts of child neglect in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County following a seven-day bench trial, with sentencing set for January 22, 2025. (more…)
A survey of Gaithersburg residents revealed 86% view the city as a great place to live, praising parks, customer service, and public safety. Areas identified for improvement include traffic flow, street maintenance, and economic development. (more…)
On Wednesday, Governor Wes Moore, alongside Maryland’s congressional delegation, announced $13.9 million in federal funding to enhance workforce development and postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities in Maryland. The funding, managed through the Maryland Department of Disabilities, aims to improve access to vocational resources, facilitate data sharing, and support better employment outcomes over the next five years. (more…)