Dayhoff Soundtrack: One Maryland: Building a World-Class Workforc

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

One Maryland: Building a World-Class Workforc

A Message from the Governor March 2, 2010

Building a World-Class Workforce

Today, Lt. Governor Brown and I visited Prince George's Community College to launch a new, major workforce development initiative called Skills2Compete – Maryland, which will align our job creation efforts with the skills-training needed for Maryland's workforce to fill those jobs. We also announced that we've joined 15 other states to form the Complete College Alliance, aimed at increasing the number of students who successfully complete college, closing attainment gaps for traditionally underserved populations.

Maryland is home to the nation's #1 public school system, but the fact is a high school degree isn't enough for most jobs in today's economy. A new report from the National Skills Coalition showed that more than 40 percent of all job openings projected for the State by 2016 are in the middle-skill category. In Maryland, these include jobs not only in traditional fields such as construction, but also high-paying positions in information technology, healthcare services, and jobs related to the BRAC effort and the green economy.

Despite our State's strong record of providing workforce development training, many of the State's employers continue to report trouble filling middle-skill positions from the local talent pool. Economic recovery takes more that just attracting business and creating jobs, it also means equipping those businesses and filling those jobs with a world-class Maryland workforce. Skills2Compete – Maryland will help build that middle- and high-skill workforce

Martin O'Malley
Governor

Governor O'Malley Visits Iraq to Meet with Maryland Troops on Active Duty

Governor Martin O'Malley, on a U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored mission, traveled to Iraq last week where he met with deployed Maryland soldiers and men and women of the Maryland National Guard on active duty in Iraq. The Governor's two-day mission came at the request of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, whom Governor O'Malley met with on Thursday at the Pentagon before leaving for Iraq.

While in Iraq, Governor O'Malley visited with Maryland-based Army Reserve A Company of the 323 Military Intelligence Battalion, as well as members of the Maryland-based Army Reserve 392 Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Task Force Raven. Later, both Governor O'Malley and Iowa Governor Culver who accompanied him on the trip shared a barbeque dinner with service members from Iowa and Maryland.

Governor O'Malley Declares March "Read Across Maryland" Month

This week, Governor Martin O'Malley, together with the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) and the National Education Association,
proclaimed the month of March as "Read Across Maryland" month and also kicked off the new 30 for 30 initiative.

Flags promoting the program will be seen flying in downtown Annapolis, and the 14 Annapolis-area schools will designate special "Read Across Maryland" reading shelves in their libraries. The Governor and members of his cabinet will join MSEA leaders for classroom visits and reading assemblies at select schools across the state during the month of March

Governor O'Malley Announces Marylanders Plant Trees 2010 School Challenge

Recently, Governor O'Malley announced his Marylanders Plant Trees 2010 School Challenge for all elementary, middle and high school students in which he calls for students to plant trees in their communities in order to help improve the air, water and quality of life in Maryland. The challenge will run throughout the month of April. The schools who plant the most trees will be named to an honor roll while the grand prize winning school will be rewarded with a Department of Natural Resources field day at their school.

In 2009, Marylanders planted more than 41,000 trees. Through a cooperative effort among the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the State Highway Administration and the Maryland Department of Corrections and Public Safety, Maryland inmates planted an additional 206,000 new trees — that's the equivalent of over 300 acres — on State parks, forests and other public lands last year, toward a 1 million tree goal