From the Suite Source

“We are on a mission to put workforce development in Montgomery County on the map.”

October brings the golden colors of stronger capacities to WorkSource as we were awarded two exciting grants, Family Impact and the Disability Employment Initiative . We continue to support job creators in the community with targeted recruiting events among many other employer services. Our career seeker services at the Job Centers continue to be enhanced and expanded. Please see the extensive free workshops that are offered on our events page.  We are also very excited to be partnering with Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) to enhance our economy.

That said, I am truly amazed by everything the talented WSM team has and continues to accomplish. We are on a mission to be the best talent development entity in the nation…this month, and the world next month!

We just received a prestigious national grant, one of only three workforce development organizations in the entire country and the only one on the East Coast to be awarded the grant! We also hosted a delegation from Korea that wanted to see an example of a successful American Job Center, and we were proud to show off our Wheaton Job Center.

One of our latest initiatives we are preparing to launch is our Business Solutions. We want to be a resource for all employers in the County and we are able to provide a vast array of valuable services.

Our services fall into three main buckets:

• Planning and Growth Services, which includes labor market research and general consulting
• Talent Development and Retention Services, which includes assessments and skill gap analysis, and connections to industry partnerships
• Recruitment, Screening and Placement Services, which includes creating job descriptions and identifying specific skills and experience requirements.

Finally, we continue to spread the word through the media about our work. Celina Pineda, our account manager for the Youth and Young Adult Program in Silver Spring, was featured on CBS radio on the Tu Familia program on El ZOL 107.9, the largest Latino station in the region. Her goal was to get the word out to the Latino community about the assistance the facility can provide to young adults. I was interviewed on WHAG-TV’s I-270 News about the federal grant we recently won that enables us to expand job opportunities for people in the County who have disabilities.

Until the next issue, I would encourage everyone to keep checking our website for the latest news. Please like us on Facebook/WorkSourceMontgomery and follow us on Twitter @WorkSourceMD.