A nearly 12,000 SF home will soon be up for sale in Bethesda for $23.5 million. The home will be listed by TTR Sotheby’s Daniel Heider, less than four years […]
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No Regrets Pizza Co. at 5454 Nicholson Lane, on the lower level of the Harwood Flats apartment building in North Bethesda, has announced it will open on Saturday, May 25. (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?”
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) issued the following community message on Friday, May 24: (more…)
High school seniors from Northeast High School in Pasadena, MD (Anne Arundel County) pranked their town last month when they placed a “Coming Soon” Trader Joe’s sign in front of a vacant building.
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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.
Sofia, a second grader from Kensington Parkwood Elementary School, could soon have her art on the Google homepage for hundreds of millions to see. Sofia is one of the 55 U.S. state and territory winners in the Doodle for Google contest, MCPS announced this week.
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A portion of Georgia Avenue is closed in Brookeville after a driver crashed into a pole in the area of 22015 Georgia Avenue. According to aerial footage by Tim Pruss, wires are currently down in the area. Delays are expected. We will provide an update if we receive any additional details surrounding this crash.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 4th District Investigative Division are investigating an attempted armed robbery that occurred on Sunday, May 12, 2024, in the area of Georgia Ave. and Connecticut Ave. Detectives have released surveillance video of the suspects and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying them.
A water main break in Wheaton-Glenmont is causing traffic delays Friday morning.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision with entrapment on Thursday, May 23, in Damascus. (more…)
Abt Global, a consulting and research firm headquartered at 6130 Executive Blvd in Rockville and working in 50+ countries to improve the quality of people’s lives, today announced that it has acquired TSPi –an “award-winning, forward-leaning company with deep expertise in designing and implementing digital solutions that improve efficiency, increase performance, and accelerate client success.”
On Thursday, May 30, 2024, from 5:30 – 8:30PM Bethesda Row will host “Shop for The Cause” in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month to benefit Selena Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund. Shoppers are invited by a VIP Host Committee – including Sara Azani, Candiace Dillard Bassett, Jess Bruchs, Kim Cruz, Annie Wu Henry, Alencia Johnson, Kimberly Johnson, Dr. Wendy Osefo, Libby Rasmussen, Dani Sauter and Rina Shah – to visit participating stores providing a % of proceeds to the organization. Participating stores include Anine Bing, J.McLaughlin, Jenni Kayne, Kendra Scott, Sassanova, Veronica Beard and Wylie Grey.