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The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) is investigating a shooting that occurred in Silver Spring on Friday morning.
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?”
MCDOT has shared that due to maintenance work, Metrorail service will be impacted from Saturday, February 1 from 7 a.m. – 1 a.m. and Sunday, February 2 from 7 a.m. – Midnight. On the Red Line, Metro will replace switches at Friendship Heights interlocking, perform rail and fastener renewal and third rail maintenance, and conduct grout pad repair and leak mitigation. Bethesda, Friendship Heights, and Tenleytown stations will be closed. Below are the anticipated service impacts:
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 2nd District Investigation Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 82-year-old Bethesda man. (more…)
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The Triumph Trek at the Rio is the ultimate celebration of strength, recovery and hope — and everyone is invited.
On Sunday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation and Adventist HealthCare Home Care Services will gather at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg for an untimed walk-or-wheel around the accessible lakeside path. This is not a race. Scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, strollers and every pace are welcome, and no one finishes last.
Montgomery County residents with a household income of $67,000 or less can receive free tax preparation services through the Community Action Agency’s VITA program, available virtually and in-person at locations in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Wheaton through April 10. VITA helps residents maximize refunds by claiming tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit, and also assists with ITIN applications on Wednesdays; appointments can be scheduled by calling 240-777-1123 or visiting the CASHBACK website. (more…)
Montgomery Parks is hosting a free Valentine’s Skate at Ridge Road Recreational Park Skate Rink in Germantown on Saturday, February 8, from 11 AM to 2 PM, featuring DJ music, a disco-themed selfie backdrop, friendship bracelet trading, and food from Catalyst Hot Dogs, with all ages and (more…)
On Friday, January 31, 7-Eleven stores nationwide are offering a free small Slurpee to customers as a refreshing treat to “beat the winter blues” and celebrate the end of a long January.
Three former MVA employees were convicted for their roles in a bribery and identity fraud scheme that involved selling fraudulent driving credentials and allowing imposters to take written tests on behalf of applicants.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor and Board of Education President Julie Yang released a message reaffirming MCPS’s commitment to inclusive, high-quality education amid concerns over recent executive orders. They emphasized maintaining local curriculum control, supporting educators, and upholding the district’s core values through all legal means.
According to the Maryland Department of Agriculture, state lab testing has detected highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI) in a Montgomery County backyard flock, prompting a quarantine of affected premises and the depopulation of birds to prevent its spread. While the risk to the general public remains low, officials urge flock owners to follow biosecurity measures, register their birds, and report suspected cases, with additional precautions recommended for hunters and those in close contact with poultry.
Montreal-based Garage is set to open a new location at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, taking over the recently vacated Aeropostale space. (more…)