Workforce conference focuses on winning the talent search

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

By Nicole Kaese, special to FYI Online

It's easier today to get online than it is to get on the Washington beltway, UMUC President Gerald Heeger told an audience of nearly 200 at the Maryland Workforce Conference, entitled "Winning the War for Talent," on May 10. Maryland Workforce Academy members filled The Inn & Conference Center's lobby with exhibits, while Heeger introduced Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the auditorium.

Townsend commented that it is critical to think about "how we respect people, how we listen to people, how we make them feel," and that employers "listen to employees" and "what makes them great." Teaching and nursing are two professions that she cited in which people often feel a lack of respect.

In her remarks, Townsend congratulated President Heeger and UMUC for their successes and said, "Quality workforce is the key to economic development." She spoke of excellence in education in Montgomery County, but also warned, "Clearly we can't rest."

Keynote speaker Richard Florida, professor of regional economic development at Carnegie Mellon University, said that people in today's workforce are "the new raw material that powers the economy."

"Talent is the main predictor of regional growth." He stressed differences in the old and new economies and the characteristics of the new generation of employees.

"We are in a people-driven economy," Florida said as he emphasized the need to "develop, generate, attract and retain talent." Florida believes that the Washington DC region is a prime market for companies to find talent-one of the three factors Florida said are essential for regional growth.

Another of Florida's "3-Ts" of economic development is "technology" and universities. "Companies may go, but universities stay," Florida said. He pointed out that MIT is the largest patenting institution in Boston.

Tolerance is Florida's third ingredient. Diversity measures tolerance and ranks as the number one workplace requirement of employees, Florida said. The "need for a business climate and a people climate," is essential for talented people. Where "the degree of diversity predicts economic growth," Florida said his "gay index," is his best tool. With places like Dupont Circle, he has concluded that if the gay community can survive, tolerance is good for business.

"People want to be respected and they want to design their own job," Florida said. In the new generation workforce, 9 percent care about stock options, 20 percent about location, 40 percent about job security and stability; but half want flexibility and two-thirds want challenge and respect, Florida said citing a recent study. People are no longer concerned with just time and money; there is now a third aspect according to Florida — dreams.

During the workshop she conducted, Carol Dell'Amore, director of UMUC's National Leadership Institute, shared a model for leadership development. Dell'Amore cited the three integral steps of assessment, challenge, and support while offering advice to attendees.

Other speakers at the conference included; Eleanor Carey and Wayne A. Mills, Governor's Workforce Investment Board (GWIB) president and chairman, respectively; Arthur D. Ebersberger and Kathy Snyder, Maryland Chamber of Commerce former chairman and president/CEO, respectively; Freeman Hrabowski, University of Maryland Baltimore County president; and Jim Tschechtelin, Baltimore City Community College president.

The Maryland Workforce Academy is a partnership between the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, GWIB, UMUC, Maryland's community colleges, and state and local agencies. The organization's purpose is to "educate, train, and retain" a 21st-century workforce to promote economic vitality statewide.