Fort Meade BRAC Update - 9/7/07

Workforce development needed to handle BRAC jobs

By JOSHUA STEWART, Staff Writer
CAPITAL NEWSPAPER
Published September 07, 2007

As tens of thousands of high-tech jobs come to Maryland, state and federal officials are trying to ensure that enough local workers will be available to fill the positions. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process is set to bring an estimated 60,000 new jobs to the state. But Maryland's work force needs to be ready to capitalize on the opportunity, officials said yesterday at the Maryland Military Installation Council meeting in Crownsville.

"The needs and challenges exist from GED to Ph.D.," Tom Perez, state secretary of labor licensing and regulation, told the military council, which included installation commanders from bases and posts across the state, as well as county, state and federal officials.

Some of the high-tech jobs in information technology or engineering will require a doctoral degree, but others, mostly jobs that support the technology positions, won't require as much education, he said.

County planners anticipate 22,000 new BRAC-related jobs coming to Anne Arundel County alone. About 5,700 jobs will come from military bases in New Jersey and Virginia that are moving their workers.

But most will be at new civilian offices at Fort George G. Meade, as well as new jobs with its tenants, which include the National Security Agency, the country's electronic spying agency, and the largest current employer in the county.

The county is also expecting a surge of support jobs - including everything from health-care professionals to dishwashers - but officials haven't offered a prediction of a number.

About 1,700 students also are expected to enroll in county schools as a result.

In the next five to 10 years, most of the new jobs in the state won't be filled by current students, but rather by employees already in the work force, said Bruce England, director of Susquehanna Workforce, a nonprofit organization that assists with workforce development in northeastern Maryland.

The idea is to maintain the existing work force while potential future employees are still in school, he said.

Community colleges could play a major role in this development and maintenance process, said Dr. Martha Smith, president of Anne Arundel Community College. About half of all undergraduate students statewide attend one of the 16 community colleges in Maryland, she said.

"Everything we do with community colleges is workforce development," she said.

Regardless of the caliber of the potential employees, the new jobs, many dealing with national security, have a stringent requirement that can't be learned in the classroom: a security clearance.

To make sure students aren't making poor decisions that might force the government to deny a security clearance down the road, schools are creating programs to help students keep their noses clean.

"Character education" is becoming a part of the curriculum, said Dr. Nancy Grasmick, state superintendent of schools. Bad decisions by even academic standouts could make them worthless to the federal government, she said.

And that extends into higher education as well, said James Lyons, secretary of the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

"Some of the things you consider typical college pranks can prevent you from getting a security clearance," he said.

And it's not only mischief that can stop a person from getting a clearance. Bad credit, among other things, can be a deal-breaker, too, he said.

But the state appears capable of supplying the workers to fill the new jobs, Gov. Martin O'Malley said to the council.

"The U.S. government wouldn't (send jobs to Maryland) if we didn't have the right stuff, the brainpower, the knowledge and experience," he said.

You can get additional information about the effects of BRAC and the latest BRAC news on our website at www.FortMeadeHomes.com or e-mail us at FortMeadeHomes@aol.com

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