A Clarksburg man was sentenced to 12 months in prison and lifetime sex offender registration after being convicted of a third-degree sex offense for groping a woman during a 2021 college graduation event. (more…)
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for most of Maryland and Northern Virginia on Tuesday from 5am-1pm, per the National Weather Service (NWS).
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 Mega Millions jackpot has climbed to an estimated $944 million ($429.4 million cash) for the next drawing on Tuesday, December 24, after no ticket matched all six numbers in Friday’s draw. If won, it would be the largest December prize and the seventh largest in the game’s history. (more…)
Last week, Jennifer Tinker, 41, of Ellicott City, Maryland, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for embezzling over $1 million from her employer, a real estate agency, to fund personal expenses including vacations, luxury goods, and Taylor Swift tickets. (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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We ❤️ Teachers 5K celebrates educators through movement. On race day, runners and walkers across the country will participate in host city races, school celebrations, and virtual events — all in support of teachers and educator wellness. We'll be in beautiful Wheaton Regional Park, Join Us!
Walk it. Run it. Move for the teacher who moved you.
While shopping at Five Below in Congressional North Plaza (Rockville), an ordinary outing took a bizarre turn that left onlookers in shock and a few cars in need of repair. As the Five Below shoppers exited the store to drop off their purchases at their car, they were greeted by an unexpected sight: a SUV precariously perched atop of one car and leaning against another SUV.
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Mackie’s Barbecue opened a little more than a year ago at 5500 Olney Laytonsville Rd in Olney (most recently Umberto’s). The restaurant has made quite an impact in the community in the last year and is the only restaurant in Olney to make Yelp’s 2024 “Top 50 Places to Eat in the MD Burbs” list, which focuses on restaurants located in the Maryland suburbs.
Meow Claw is now open at 1701 Rockville Pike Suite B-9 in The Shops at Congressional Village shopping center in Rockville. It’s located in the space that was previously home […]
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The Washington Commanders beat the Philadelphia Eagles 36-33 on Sunday, to move to 10-5 after three straight victories. Next week, The 8-7 Atlanta Falcons comes to town for a Sunday night game, but let’s take a look at some fun facts from today’s game:
Twinbrook Quarter (1500-1616 Rockville Pike) is a 12-story mixed-use office, retail, and residential tower that sits atop a parking podium. The building features 452 apartment units, 30,000 square feet of […]
7-Eleven has closed its location at 8472 Piney Branch Rd in The Flower Center shopping center at the intersection of Piney Branch Rd and Flower Ave in Takoma Park. The 7-Eleven opened a little more than 15 years ago.
Per the City of Gaithersburg: “In observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, most City of Gaithersburg facilities and offices will be closed on Wednesday, December 25, 2024, and Wednesday, January 1, 2025.”