Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich will announce the nomination of Corey Smedley as his nominee to be the next Montgomery County fire chief on Thursday, May 30 at 11:30 a.m.
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 that the Talbot Avenue Bridge in Silver Spring has reopened after six years. (more…)
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Rare whiskies and small-batch spirits will be available on Sunday, June 9 at Montgomery County ABS locations as part of the “Highly Allocated Products” program.
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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Come enjoy the day at our annual Washington Grove Arts and Craft Festival in a beautiful outdoor setting. This festival highlights local artisans including wood creations, pottery, visual art, household products and so much more. We also have food trucks from El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster’s Ice Cream and beverages from Saints Row Brewery. Bring the whole family because we have a kids activity area too. Pets on a leash are welcome too!
In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before judge Marielsa Bernard, a jury has found defendants, Callen Baker, 20, of Jefferson, MD, and Zachary Ciccantelli, 24, of Rockville, MD, guilty on charges related to a shootout on Monroe Street in Rockville on March 1, 2023. The jury returned a guilty verdict on 18 counts of first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, use of a firearm in commission of a crime of violence and reckless endangerment.
Following the Montgomery Planning Board’s approval of The Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science last month, the plan has been transmitted to the Montgomery County Council, which will hold a public hearing on the Planning Board Draft of the plan on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at 7 p.m.
During the Maryland History Day Contest held earlier this month, several MCPS students from middle and high schools advanced to the National History Day competition set for June 9-13. More than 350 students from 35 MCPS middle schools and five high schools took part in the Montgomery County History Day competition last week at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School. More than 120 people volunteered as judges to interview and score the students’ projects. The students advancing are:
Three MCPS students have received $3,000 scholarships from the League of Educators for Asian American Progress (LEAAP). The students were honored for their level of scholarship and their interest in pursuing a career in education.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 6th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Enrri Adil Cruz Barahona, a missing 51-year-old. (more…)
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has announced that no files will be charged against the Montgomery County Police Officers in connection to a fatal vehicle pursuit that occurred in December 2023. Full news release below: