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