LAUREL, MD (February 8, 2008) – Governor Martin O’Malley today hosted a Workforce Creation Summit at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab to generate new ideas and develop workforce policies for Maryland’s future. The Summit brought together over 500 Maryland stakeholders from business, education, government and nonprofits to discuss ways of creating a streamlined and aligned workforce system that will help Maryland compete in the 21st Century.
“This Summit is about harnessing the vast amount of knowledge from an array of experts for the benefit of our entire State,” said Governor O’Malley. “Our future progress depends on our ability to build and sustain a workforce that answers the critical needs of our employers, while also fulfilling the needs of our most precious resource – our people.”
The first roundtable of the Summit included discussions on the alignment of the education system’s mission, goals and outcomes with Maryland’s economic and workforce needs. Panelists in the second roundtable discussed strategies for growing a skilled workforce including the retention of college graduates, immigrant workers, untapped populations, and the roles of philanthropy, business and government. A report will be prepared on the results and recommendations from the Summit.
Over the course of this week, Governor O’Malley held a number of events to highlight current, ongoing and future efforts to build a comprehensive workforce creation system that will provide more opportunities for all Marylanders and secure Maryland’s position in an increasingly competitive global economy. Efforts underway in Maryland include strategic re-alignment among state agencies; the creation of the P-20 Council to better align our educational system with workforce goals; the launch and creation of apprenticeship and training programs; and funding to address the State’s nursing shortage.
February 8, 2008 |
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