Events
May Mixer at Elements Therapeutic MassageThursday May 17, @5:30pm - @7:30pm |
Environmental CommitteeWednesday May 23, @8:30am - @9:30am |
Yellowfin Signature MixerThursday June 7, @5:30pm - @7:30pm |
Small Business Sounding Board (SB2)Tuesday June 12, @8:00am - @9:00am |
Multi-Chamber Breakfast at The Annapolis SheratonTuesday June 19, @7:30am - @9:30am |
News Digest
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May 14 2012
Feds approve more BWI upgrades
The Capital - As BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport officials prepare for a $100 million terminal expansion this year, they also have received federal approval for a massive airfield improvement project. Read more ...
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May 14 2012
O’Malley wants fast action from Md. gambling work group
Washington Post - In a bid to resolve some of the most difficult gambling issues left over from the last legislative session, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said Friday that he would assemble an 11-member work group on casinos to undertake “a fact-driven process, aided by expert analysis.” O’Malley said the group would be charged with making public recommendations by June 20, in preparation for a possible second special session in July devoted to gaming issues. Read more ...
Small Business Digest
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April 05 2012
GSA scandal sheds light on small business contracting fraud
Washington Post - Buried in the laundry list of misconduct claims against the General Services Administration is further evidence of what at least one federal official and one trade group call a critical problem for small employers: improper contracting that diverts government spending to large corporations instead of small businesses.
Recent analysis of government data that showed that 72 of the 100 companies receiving the highest amount of federal small business contracts in 2011 were firms that exceeded the Small Business Administration’s size standards for small companies. Read more ... -
April 05 2012
What you can learn from Southwest Airlines’ culture
Washington Post - A consciously developed customer-centered culture is a business advantage that will serve you for years — and inoculate you against competitive inroads. Consider for a minute Southwest Airlines and the lengthy list of would-be category killers that have tried to imitate it: United Airlines’ United Shuttle, Continental Airlines’ Continental Lite, Delta’s Delta Express and US Airways’ Metro-Jet.
What did these companies lack: Money? Name recognition? Hardly. They lacked Southwest’s relentless focus on culture, which none of its pop-up competitors was willing to slow down to emulate. And all are now bust. Read more ...
Legislative Digest
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May 14 2012
Maryland budget bills outline tax increases
The Capital - The budget package to be adopted during the legislature's special session that starts on Monday will increase the income taxes some residents pay, and will shift some of the cost of teachers' pensions from the states to the counties, according to draft bills the General Assembly posted online on Friday. Read more ...
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May 14 2012
Gov. O’Malley touts low taxes as he calls special session to raise them
Maryland Reporter - Maryland has some of the lowest taxes in the country, Gov. Martin O’Malley said Wednesday officially announcing plans to call a special session of the legislature to fix a budget impasse — partially by raising taxes. Read more ...
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May 14 2012
Group: Maryland too reliant on income taxes
The Capital - While Gov. Martin O’Malley has touted Maryland’s comparatively low tax burden on its high-income populace, some groups are concerned that the income tax hikes proposed for this week’s General Assembly special session will harm the state’s national rankings on taxes and business climate. Read more ...
Economic Digest
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May 14 2012
Anne Arundel economic leaders seeking funding boost
The Capital - County officials hope to devote an additional $1 million toward business recruitment and redevelopment in the upcoming year. Read more ...
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April 11 2012
Growth of U.S. labor force is slowing, reports show
Washington Post - The slower growth in the labor force arises from two factors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. First, the U.S. population is growing more slowly. Second, the percentage of Americans working or seeking work will continue to decline as the population ages. Read more ...
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April 11 2012
D.C. region’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in Feb.
Washington Post - The Washington region’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February from a seasonally adjusted 5.6 percent the month before, one of the lowest levels among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas and well below the national jobless rate, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. Read more ...
Chamber Workforce Development Initiatives
The pressures of rapidly changing technology and increased regional competition require an ongoing investment in the State’s, County’s, and City’s workforces. Public and private initiatives should partner to foster programs designed to supply a well-trained and available labor force for employers. Moderately priced housing and alternative transportation options from residential areas to places of employment are important initiatives and are addressed later in this document.
Adequate funding for workforce development programs in our vocational and secondary schools, public/private workforce development initiatives, and post secondary educational institutions is essential to meet the growing demands for a skilled and life-long learning workforce. The Chamber of Commerce supports incentives that allow workers with obsolete skills to be retrained for available jobs and programs that provide unemployed or underemployed citizens with advanced job skills that meet the County’s and City’s growing workforce demands.
The future success of our society and our economy rests with the children we are educating today in our public and private schools, community colleges and universities. These young people will become the future leaders, entrepreneurs, and skilled employees needed to maintain our competitiveness in an ever-changing world. Educational issues affecting the quality of secondary and post secondary graduates entering the workforce, and issues affecting the availability of teachers and educators in our public school systems, are paramount if we are to compete in an increasingly competitive economy. Those issues also extend to the importance of funding public education.
We need to prepare today’s students for meeting the needs of the immediate present while exploring new and innovative programs for future generations who will enter a workforce different from that to which we are accustomed. It is essential that standards exist to reliably assess student performance prior to graduation from high school and to provide for teacher accountability to ensure that students are adequately educated to succeed in the workplace of today and tomorrow.
Another important aspect of workforce development and workforce readiness is the availability of affordable housing for middle and lower income working families. The Chamber of Commerce is guided by the vision that in order to be a vibrant, attractive and economically prosperous community, Anne Arundel County must strive to create and maintain a diverse community of workers. This necessitates the creation and preservation of a housing market with a broad range of housing options for all income levels.
Below are links to the Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee, Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, Anne Arundel Community College, and Anne Arundel County Public Schools:
Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee
Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation
2012 Membership Directory
