Human Capital: Cultivating Talent and Connecting Prince George’s County Residents with Economic Opportunity

HUMAN CAPITAL: CULTIVATING TALENT AND CONNECTING PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY RESIDENTS WITH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

Situational Analysis

Build on Strengths and Opportunities

• Upskill residents to embrace the growing diversity of jobs in County

• Reach into County’s robust talent pool

• Tap the potential of skilled County residents who are out-commuting

Address Weaknesses and Gaps

• Understand and alter the trajectory of “The Tale of Two Counties”

• Provide external support to help address challenges with K-12 education in the County

• Work to stem the outflows of skilled talent

The availability and quality of labor are key factors impacting the economic development process. Based on Area Development’s recently released 2021 Annual Survey of Corporate Executives, the availability of skilled talent ranked first in this year’s survey, considered “very important” or “important” by 91.4 percent of respondents.46 “Despite an increase in remote working during the pandemic, basing the location decision on where the available skilled workers can be found is still paramount. Remember that half of the respondents to our survey say they are only temporarily shifting to remote work, with more than a third making no such transition at all,” the study finds. Training programs are also increasingly important to the site selection process, growing from a 50.9 percent importance rating in 1986 to 63.3 percent rating in the most recent survey.47

As it pertains to developing talent and skills in Prince George’s County, there are several strengths and opportunities to build upon.

Through 2045, Prince George’s County is projected to experience strong and stable population, labor force,

and employment (by place of work) growth. Based on projections from the Maryland Department of Planning, the County’s population is projected to grow by 9 percent, its workforce by 3 percent, and in-County jobs by 13 percent through 2045.48 In-County employment opportunities are