Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) are on the scene of an incident involving a driver running over a man who was laying in the roadway for unknown reasons on E Diamond Ave in Gaithersburg shortly before 8am on Tuesday morning.
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?”
In September 2021, we let you know that Gregorio’s Trattoria would be opening its third MoCo location, and fourth overall, at Park Potomac- taking over the space that was previously home to Sugo. Sugo closed its doors permanently last in the summer of 2021. Signage is now up at the restaurant.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) issued the following community message on Monday, April 15, regarding the proposed self-service bus tracking app.
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Olney, MD Art Gallery and Studio to present a Pop-Culture themed group Art Exhibit and Artists’ Alley event.
Highly Animated is a 2-month long celebration of the vibrant world of fan art. From classic JRPG nostalgia, to the latest anime obsessions, to amazing original characters, this exhibition will highlight the passion, creativity and talent within fan communities.
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, April 16 at 9am to continue their review of the FY25-30 Capital Improvements Program. There will then be a joint committee meeting held at 3pm. Full details below courtesy Montgomery County:
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@CBKreport, a popular social media account covering college basketball on various platforms, has released its “Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Programs of All-Time” list (seen below). Two local programs made the list- Georgetown University and the University of Maryland.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a multi-vehicle collision on Monday, April 15, in Rockville. (more…)
According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable Rachel McGuckian has sentenced defendant, Kimberly Tyler, 31, of Germantown, to 30 years in prison suspend all but 25 years to serve and five years of supervised probation upon release. (more…)
The Takoma Park Police Criminal Investigations Division is actively investigating a fatal shooting that occurred on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at about 11:05 am. A reward up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and/or indictment of the person or persons responsible for this crime.