Neighbor News
REDI Hosts Inaugural Workforce Development Roundtable
REDI convenes area leaders for ongoing discussions facilitated by Montgomery College to address the Resiliency Road Map for Rockville.
On Thursday, June 4, Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) launched the first of many facilitated discussions focused on workforce development in Rockville and its surrounding areas. It convened state and regional leaders from the education, commerce, labor and business sectors for a productive conversation about the current labor market, workforce needs and skills gaps, unemployment due to COVID-19 and how education and business entities can work together to create success in a changing environment.
More than 50 participants represented many of Rockville’s industry segments including:
| Accounting BioHealth/BioTech Childcare Education Engineering | Financial/Banking Hospitality Government Government Contracting Homecare | Marketing Non-profits Professional Services Research Tech/Cyber Unions |
Dr. Kimberly Kelley, Vice President and Provost at Montgomery College Rockville Campus, as well as a REDI Board Member and Chair of its Workforce/Education Committee led the virtual roundtable with Cindy Stewart, CEO of REDI. Representatives from Maryland Department of Commerce, Maryland Department of Labor, Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery College and the Universities at Shady Grove contributed to this opportunity to share ideas about aligning workforce development and education to support local employers and bridge skills gaps to help train or re-position workforce talent.
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A highlight of the event was a presentation by Dr. Kevin Long, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Planning and Policy for Montgomery College, who reviewed the economic impact of COVID-19 on the local job market.
“In a strategic planning session more than a year ago, REDI’s Board of Directors identified workforce development as one of its major initiatives to increase economic vitality in Rockville,” said Paul Newman, REDI Board Chair. “It has become one of our top priorities then and remains critically important now as we begin economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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“We discovered that many individuals and organizations were separately working on workforce development,” said Cindy Stewart. “By bringing everyone together, we can work more efficiently to address local business workforce needs.”
This is the first of a series of roundtable discussions REDI will host with Montgomery College and other partners to discover the workforce needs of our Rockville area businesses, educate them on the existing resources available to them and learn what new resources are needed.
For additional information about REDI’s workforce development roundtables or ways REDI can help your business thrive in Rockville, contact Ryan Gandy, Deputy Director, at (301) 355-2202 or gandy@rockvilleredi.org.
About Rockville Economic Development, Inc.
Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) was formed in 1997 as a 501(c)(3) to identify and develop economic opportunities to help the City of Rockville prosper. For more than 20 years, REDI has provided businesses with the necessary tools to launch, locate, and expand in Rockville and continues to offer guidance and support to business ventures in the city. For more information, visit www.rockvilleredi.org. Follow us Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.