The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration is ready to assist hundreds of thousands of travelers “Reach the Beach” this summer by improving the driving experience along state roads heading to the Eastern Shore.
Summer officially arrives in North America with the summer solstice on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 4:51pm, which is the earliest start in 128 years. The Farmers’ Almanac Summer Weather […]
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 winners have been announced of the 2023-24 “Keeping it Safe Coalition” alcohol prevention student video contest.
A total of 152 MCPS educators achieved certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in 2023, and 109 were on hand to receive their pins in a ceremony on May 7. Another 73 successfully maintained their certifications; 38 attended and were honored for these efforts. Full list of NBCTs, 2023
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Bring your family and friends to our free , all-day outdoor Oktoberfest celebration. These will be an outdoor craft fair featuring local artisans and professional woodworkers, a chainsaw carving, woodworking and tool demonstrations by Festool, Montgomery Wood Turners and Carvers. There will also be lots of delicious food provided by El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster's Ice cream and seasonal craft brews from Saints Row Brwsing Company.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has released details on this year’s “Give and Ride Food Drive.”
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MDOT) has released a list of travel alternatives for residents who will be affected by this summer’s Metro Red Line closure.
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The Montgomery County Police Department has released surveillance images of suspects wanted in connection to a robbery that occurred last month at a tobacco/vape shop last month in Bethesda.
With nearly 3,000 native animal species and millions of pets in households across the country that rely on our support to survive, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Animals and the Best States for Animals in 2024. Maryland came in ranked as 2024’s “second worst state,” according to the study.
In order to determine where America’s wildlife and animal companions live their best lives, SmileHub compared the animal-friendliness of all 50 states across 18 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of pet-owning households to state land designated for parks and wildlife to vulnerability to climate change.
Montgomery County Recreation is hosting White Oak Day on Saturday, June 1 from 11am until 4pm at the White Oak Community Recreation Center (1700 April Lane, Silver Spring, MD, 20904).
The Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) is looking to identify suspects wanted in connection with a theft that occurred at a Montgomery County ABS store. (more…)
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Last week, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in St. Augustine, FL, revealed that skeletal remains discovered in a shallow grave on Crescent Beach in 1985 have been identified as […]