Starting in summer 2024, construction will begin on a new mezzanine at Silver Spring Station to provide access between Metro and the future Purple Line, which will be owned and operated by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). A portion of the Red Line will be closed due to construction this summer.
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 Fire and Rescue services responded to the report of a drowning on Friday, April 12 in Clarksburg. (more…)
Montgomery County Police has released surveillance footage of suspects who are wanted in connection to an armed robbery in Germantown.
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We ❤️ Teachers 5K celebrates educators through movement. On race day, runners and walkers across the country will participate in host city races, school celebrations, and virtual events — all in support of teachers and educator wellness. We'll be in beautiful Wheaton Regional Park, Join Us!
Walk it. Run it. Move for the teacher who moved you.
The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection has released its 2022/2023 Recycling Summary, highlighting the county’s recycling accomplishments.
After a run of a couple pleasant days and some rain today, we are expected to see temperatures in the low 60s on Saturday and mid to upper 70s for most of next week… likely hitting 80° at least one of those days.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has announced that Montgomery County Police Officer Justin Lee, who was suspended from the department after being indicted on charges relating to his involvement with […]
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 3rd District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Ramon Cruz, a missing 88-year-old from Burtonsville. (more…)
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Nicholas Berluti, a teacher at Kingsview Middle School in Germantown, was named a winner in the 11th annual Maryland Financial Education and Capability Awards last month.
On Thursday, Governor Wes Moore launched the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse Response Website, which “serves as a central hub for Marylanders in search of federal, state, and local resources and programs related to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”