Baltimore, MD - Sheila Dixon, Mayor, Baltimore City and Baltimore County Executive Jim T. Smith, Jr.’s representative, Director of Communications Donald Mohler, along with the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board (BWIB) and Baltimore County Workforce Development Council (BCWDC), honored the recipients of second annual Baltimore Regional Employer Awards today at a breakfast at Stevenson University. These awards were presented to area businesses that exemplify innovative approaches to workforce development. Winners below were selected from nominations received in the following five categories: Looking Beyond Barriers and Hiring Smart – Dietrich Industries for its work in hiring individuals with criminal backgrounds, who have learned from their mistakes and are ready to re-enter society in a meaningful and productive way. Competitive Advantage – Johns Hopkins Health System established Project R.E.A.C.H. to help their employees acquire skills and knowledge required in healthcare occupations allowing Johns Hopkins to remain competitive in a tight healthcare labor market. Competitive Advantage – Franklin Square Hospital, partnering with the Community College of Baltimore County, is helping to solve the current labor shortage in healthcare by a unique program that allows for a certain number of seats to be held for Franklin Square employees in the nursing program with Franklin Square supplying the faculty to teach in the program. Preparing Youth for the 21st Century Workplace – The Center for Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health helps to ensure that both in-school and out-of-school youth have the skills, abilities, and attitude to be successful employees by hosting Job Shadow days, providing internships, and a variety of other related activities and programs. Employee Retention – Pevco, a relatively small manufacturing firm, retains its employees by providing family-oriented incentives and benefits and has maintained its workforce for many years. Innovator – The University of Maryland Medical Center has created a career development service in its human resources department that has three main goals – to create career advancement opportunities, provide employment opportunities for the un- and underemployed, and introduce young people to careers in healthcare, thereby working with its incumbent workers and attracting new workers.
The ceremony marks the kick-off for the second full year of the Baltimore Regional Employers Institute, which will bring together area business representatives to promote best practices across the Baltimore City/Baltimore County region.
"The Baltimore region's workforce is truly world class, and the employers we are honoring today have played an important role in establishing that reputation, through their innovative recruitment and retention programs,” said Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith. “We are delighted to join with Baltimore City in recognizing the positive contribution these employers are making towards building and maintaining a highly skilled workforce that keeps our region performing competitively in the global marketplace." "Our region’s economy continues to thrive because we have some of the finest employers anywhere in the world,” said Mayor Sheila Dixon. “The employers receiving awards today are especially deserving of praise, because they have strategically invested in a variety of innovative programs focused on finding, keeping, and developing a top-notch workforce."
The Baltimore Regional Employer Institute provides local business representatives with a unique opportunity to learn directly from each of the award winning companies in a series of employer-to-employer forums. University of Maryland Medical System’s Senior Vice President, Network Development John W. Ashworth III, the chair of the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, and Kirk-Habicht Company’s President Mark D. Habicht, the chair of the Baltimore County Workforce Development Council jointly and enthusiastically endorse the Institute, during which each winning company will lead a two-hour business-to-business forum beginning early in 2009. Forums will provide attendees with concrete information on their cutting edge practices, all designed to enable employers to successfully engage and maintain a viable pool of talented employees.
"The staff at Johns Hopkins Health System greatly appreciates receiving the Baltimore Regional Employers Institute Award,” said Yariela Kerr-Donovan, director for the Department of Human Resources at Project R.E.A.C.H. at Johns Hopkins Health System. We've worked hard to develop the R.E.A.C.H. program so we can help incumbent workers continue to grow professionally. Our employees value the chance to advance their careers, and we value having a ready labor pool of trained workers to fill our openings, as we continue to face the daunting shortage of healthcare workers. We're glad to have an opportunity to share the R.E.A.C.H program model with other employers who might benefit from instituting a similar initiative in their organizations, too. We're really looking forward to our Institute session!" Appreciation for receiving this regional recognition was shared by the entire award winning companies. "Pevco is honored and delighted to be recognized by the Baltimore Regional Employers Institute for our employee retention program,” said Human Resource Manager Debbie Johansen. “Pevco is a family-
owned business and we believe in treating our employees like family – respectfully! It is one of the main reasons we are able to retain a terrific workforce and positive workplace. Everyone wins! We greatly appreciate the efforts of both Baltimore City and County to reinforce employer programs like we have at Pevco.” The ceremony was organized by Baltimore City’s Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and Baltimore County’s Office of Workforce Development in order to assist their efforts in promoting successful workforce development initiatives for their customers. The sponsors that contributed to the Baltimore Regional Employer Awards included the Community College of Baltimore County, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Erickson Retirement Communities, Goodwill Staffing Services, the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development, and Verizon. |