The Montgomery County Council will hold committee meetings on Monday, June 24. Full agenda below courtesy Montgomery County: (more…)
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On Friday, a hit-and-run crash on I-270 at around 5 a.m. claimed the lives of Luis Isaac Bran, 17, of Gaithersburg, and Rebeca Gabriela Vasquez Moreno, 16, from El Salvador. They were passengers in a 2018 Toyota RAV4 that was struck by a BMW, which then fled the scene. In the past 24 hours, a GoFundMe fundraiser started by the victims’ families has raised over $12,000. (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?”
Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: – In response to recent hate-speech vandalism involving one of Maryland Senate Candidate Angela Alsobrooks’ campaign signs, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the […]
The Office of Governor Wes Moore issued the following news release on Friday, June 21: (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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BETHESDA, YOUR SATURDAY MORNING PLANS JUST GOT MORE CREATIVE.
Join Craft Cart at Coffee Republic on Saturday, September 26, from 11:00 AM–1:00 PM for a beginner-friendly faux stained glass experience filled with creativity, coffee and connection.
The funeral for Maryland parole and probation agent Davis Martinez, who was killed in the line of duty last month, is taking place Saturday morning. The wake is from 9:30am until 11am and the funeral service begins at 11am at the Living Word International Christian Church, 16819 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring.
The Washington Post has released its list of ‘12 Best Dive Bars’ in the DC area and two Maryland bars, both located in Montgomery County, have made the list. The Post defines a dive bar as having “dim lights, cheap drinks, friendly (if occasionally grouchy) staff, good music.” While there are many great places that fit this mold and didn’t make the list, here are the two that did:
The National Weather Service has stated that “Today will be the hottest day of the year thus far.” This comes after what was the hottest day of the year for many on Friday.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to the scene of a crash involving a motorcycle on westbound ICC (200) prior to Layhill Road. As of now there is […]
Several lanes of northbound I-270 are blocked after a collision involving at least two vehicles (with one overturned) shortly before 10pm on Friday night. The crash occurred near exit 5, according to WTOP’s Cheyenne Corin. This is very close to the location of Friday morning’s crash that claimed the lives of two teens.
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) State Highway Administration (SHA) has released its major lane closures for this weekend (June 22 and 23, 2024). They can be seen below, by […]
Rockville’s Independence Day Celebration is held annually at Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park in King Farm (1800 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD). This year the celebration does from 7pm until 10pm.