Wootton High School has communicated that the school is in a Shelter-in-Place due to a bomb threat at the school. The full message communicated to families can be seen below:
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Interested in writing thrillers or finding the inspiration to finish your first novel? Looking to develop your own comics or graphic novel? Or maybe you want to see your byline in print? If so, the 15th Gaithersburg Book Festival has something for you. On Saturday, May 18, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in free workshops on these topics and more.
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?”
The Office of Governor Wes Moore issued the following news release on Monday, April 22:
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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.
Montgomery County Councilmember Natali Fani-González will hold a community conversation with the Department of General Services on the upcoming Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center on Wednesday, April 24 at the Wheaton Library. (more…)
U.S. News & World Report today announced its 2024 ‘Best High Schools’ rankings. The rankings evaluate nearly 18,000 public high schools at the national, state and local level. There are 255 public high schools in Maryland. Eight of the top 20 can be found in Montgomery County, with all but one MCPS school in the top half of the rankings.
A Gaithersburg woman is $200,000 richer after purchasing winning Powerball lottery tickets from two separate retailers in Montgomery Village. Full story below courtesy MD Lottery: (more…)
Montgomery County has announced that all nine of its golf courses have achieved “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” for environmental excellence. (more…)
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Wheaton High School’s National Honor Society has partnered with the City of Rockville Government to clear the area that used to be Avery Road Colored Cemetery behind Croydon Creek Nature Center. Today, the students began their work in the area.
FITRow’s ‘Day of Fitness’ Takes Place on Saturday, May 4 at Congressional Plaza in Rockville. The event will allow the public to experience outdoor classes from premier fitness studios and local influencers.