On Wednesday evening, Maryland Governor Wes Moore posted the following statement on Twitter/X:
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services chief spokesperson Pete Piringer is letting the public know of three several private fireworks displays tonight (Wednesday, July 3rd).
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 National Weather Service (NWS) has made note of an upcoming heat and humidity increase heading into the Independence Day holiday.
TaKorean has closed its Kentlands location after a little more than a year at 261 Kentlands Blvd in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood.
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.
Add to Calendar
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!
Five Montgomery County restaurants have been honored in Wine Spectator’s 2024 Restaurant Awards. (more…)
Did you know that in less than an hour from most parts of Montgomery County, you can access a freshwater lake and a sandy beach? We put the word “secret” in quotes, because it has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, but is still not known by many Marylanders.
A Joint Work Session between WRS, Inc., the Mayor and City Council, and Planning Commission has been scheduled for Monday, July 8, 2024 at 7:30pm for the redevelopment of Lakeforest. The Joint Work Session will be held in the City Council Chambers at 16 South Summit Avenue. WRS has shared some information regarding questions they’ll be addressing at the work session next week (additional renderings below):
Governor Wes Moore announced that cannabis sales, including both medical and adult-use, exceeded $1.1 billion in the first 12 months since legalization last July.
Signage is up at Rising Star studio, located at 18505 N Frederick Ave in the ‘Gaithersburg SC’ shopping center (home of Bruster’s and Floor & Decor).
|
Banana Republic will close its Montgomery Mall location at 7101 Democracy Blvd Suite 2054 on July 17th, according to a representative from the store.
Montgomery County Police are investigating a robbery that occurred on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at a Bank of America ATM in the 13700 block of Connecticut Avenue in Silver Spring. (more…)