The Maryland Attorney General’s Office issued the following news release on Friday, May 10:
The community has rallied around the family of an 11-year-old Diamond Elementary School student in Gaithersburg after the child suffered an unexpected medical crisis earlier this month.
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 will give an update on the proposed “Diversion Center” in Rockville on Tuesday, May 21. The behavior health diversion center will be used to treat individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. (more…)
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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 Police have announced the arrest of an 18-year-old male from Clarksburg, who has been charged with multiple sexual offenses.
Montgomery County Police have announced the arrest of a 33-year-old man in connection with a burglary and the first-degree rape of a minor that occurred last month.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision with entrapment on Friday, May 10, in Gaithersburg.
Montgomery County Public Schools has issued a community message concerning the “Senior Assassins Challenge,” a water gun tag game currently being played by students across the country. According to USA Today, “instances of students playing the game have resulted in disturbances, such as a student breaking into another student’s home to “tag” them with a paintball gun or a group of students wearing ski masks entering a restaurant to find their opponents and being confronted by a licensed concealed pistol holder.”
Virginia based Johnny Ray’s Sultry Soul Food in Downtown Silver Spring will open this Saturday, May 11, according to report by Source of the Spring. (more…)
Dimmples Kettles is now open at 8073 Georgia Ave in Silver Spring. The restaurant is located in the space previously occupied by Lotus Cafe, which closed in July 2023 after 15 years in business.
Montgomery County Police has released images of a person wanted in connection to a burglary that occurred last month in Chevy Chase.