Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision involving a single vehicle off the road into a guardrail on Thursday morning.
Spirit Halloween is now open at 30 Grand Corner Ave. in Gaithersburg’s Rio. The store is currently open 12-7pm daily.
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?”
On Tuesday, Attorney General Anthony Brown issued the following statement regarding the Fourth Circuit’s decision to uphold Maryland’s 2013 assault weapon ban.
On Tuesday, Governor Wes Moore pledged support for more than 150,000 military and veteran caregivers across the state by joining the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s Hidden Heroes Campaign. (more…)
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!
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Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to the Lockwood Apartments in the 11400blk of Lockwood Dr in Silver Spring (White Oak) at approximately 5:55am on Thursday morning for the report of a fire.
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Update: Grace Kufuna has been located safe and unharmed.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Grace Kufuna, a missing 15-year-old from Gaithersburg. (more…)
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Amazon Fresh is now open at 15790 Shady Grove Rd. in Gaithersburg. (more…)
The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair returns on Friday, August 9th and will run through Saturday, August 17th. The Fair Foodie Awards are taking place on the first day and we’ll let you know all the winners for this upcoming year right after. For now, here’s a list of participating food vendors:
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According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable Theresa Chernosky sentenced defendant, Ishtiaq Malik, 60, of Lanham, to 42 years in prison suspend all but 24 years to serve and five years of supervised probation upon release. Malik will also be required to register as a sex offender for the duration of his life.” (more…)
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) has announced the arrest of 23-year-old Neel Patel of Carol Stream, IL, for allegedly targeting elderly individuals through a government-imposter-related gold bar scam.
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) Collision Reconstruction Unit is investigating a fatal collision in the area of Georgia Avenue, between Triadelphia Lake Road and the Howard County/Montgomery County Line.