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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?”
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Avison Young recently announced the closing (sale) of Doctors Medical Park, a three-building outpatient clinical park on behalf of the seller, Medical Center Associates, LLLP. The 90,076-square-foot (sf) property was acquired for $15,250,000 by an affiliate of Blue Arch Capital. The clinical park includes 10301 Georgia Avenue, 2101 Medical Park Drive and 2121 Medical Park Center in Silver Spring.
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Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to the scene of a crash involving two vehicles on Saturday morning.
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.
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Music. Art. Food. Community. The Takoma Park Folk Festival brings it all together for one free, unforgettable day. Discover six stages of live music from around the world, shop an acclaimed juried craft show, enjoy international cuisine, connect with local community organizations, and let the kids explore crafts and activities in the Children's Nook. It's one of the region's most beloved traditions, and a celebration of the creativity, diversity, and welcoming spirit that has long defined Takoma Park.
New this year! Jam at the Crossroads is a place for musicians of all levels to come together and be part of the music.
The Montgomery County Police Department has provided the following summary of events regarding a fatal collision involving a motorcycle that occurred on Saturday morning:
Sodexo recently moved its U.S. headquarters to 915 Meeting Street, a new 276,000-square-foot trophy office building that recently opened in North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose development. Sodexo’s headquarters were previously located at 9801 Washingtonian Blvd in Gaithersburg (next to Rio Lakefront) where Prime US REIT signed Immunocore as the first tenant that will take part of the space vacated by Sodexo. Now, an $800K permit has been pulled to begin improvements at the space.
The 15th Annual “Silver Spring Blues Week” takes place June 9-15 in Downtown Silver Spring. Full details below courtesy Montgomery Couny:
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 3rd District Investigative Section are investigating a commercial burglary that occurred on Monday, April 8, 2024, in the 8500 block of Georgia Avenue.
The Office of Governor Wes Moore issued the following news release on June 7, 2024: (more…)
Boris Josue Bonilla has been identified by family members as the man who was killed in a crash on the inner loop of I-495 at approximately 3am on Wednesday morning.
Prince George’s County Police Homicide Unit detectives charged a Montgomery County man in connection with a fatal shooting in May. The suspect is 21-year-old Erick Pineda of Silver Spring. He is charged with fatally shooting 20-year-old Kevin Moscoso-Lopez of Adelphi. (more…)