Hundreds attended a recent job fair at Fort Meade, where more than 80 employers gathered to recruit candidates for some 1,200 jobs. The majority of employers who helped organize the event, about 60 percent, were there to recruit applicants with security clearances, said Jerome Duncan, a business workforce specialist with the state Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation.
"For an event like this, (candidates) are expected to have the training and education required for the...
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AAWDC's Response to Your Questions - 2011-04-12 16:33:35
I would first like to clarify the salary statement in the article, as it can be misleading. High-end positions at Fort Meade can make $100,000, but many of the jobs related to BRAC growth are not in that salary range. Most of the jobs sought at the Job Fair mentioned in the article were high-end jobs requiring security clearances, but that does not encompass all of the opportunities available on, and surrounding, the base. We will be hosting a BRAC 101 Information Session on May 3rd that can answer some of these questions. You can go to our website for more details.
AAWDC and its partners are in the first year of the Pathways to Cybersecurity grant that spans three counties and the city of Baltimore. The money goes to training or to staff that work directly with job seekers and businesses. To date, 220 individuals have been placed in training for cybersecurity. The training averages 8 months, meaning the first set of participants will complete training in May. It is important to note that job seekers entering this field must have an aptitude and/or background in computers to succeed in obtaining work in this field, and hence enter training under the Pathways program.
There are many jobs being created or expanding in our county, including highly skilled cybersecurity positions, green jobs spanning laborers to project managers, and positions at the incoming Maryland Live!. Not only will there be entry-level jobs at Maryland Live!, but there will also be management, HR, finance, etc. jobs associated with the casino.
Any unemployed individual may go through our weekly orientations to learn more about the training opportunities and assistance available. Making sure our citizens have the skills and opportunities to prepare for these positions remains a priority for AAWDC.
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Heather Henry - Glen Burnie, MD - Karma: Neutral
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Since - 2011-04-04 13:12:17
it would appear this reporter has access to AAWDC, it would be nice to have some of these questions answered.
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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Terrible
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No - 2011-04-04 07:31:33
Jim I am all for $100,000 a year jobs, the more the better. But when the title of the artice is want to make a $100,000 is ridiculous. We are approaching a year since AAWDC obtained the 4.9 mil, how many jobs has this money generated? Maybe if the Capital looked into how many jobs or careers this money has created that would be more print worthy. How much of the money has gone to training, how much has gone to administrative costs? Has this funding just gone to creating jobs at AAWDC? Can any county resident that is unemployed or under employed walk in to AAWDC and say I want to attend Cyber Training and receive the funding? These are simple questions to ask and the answers should be simple.
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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Terrible
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Pat - 2011-04-03 19:46:32
It seems you're advocating $8 per hour jobs over $100k jobs, but I don't want to put words in your mouth.
These professional, high-paying, career-defining jobs are what we should be trying to create. Of course, everyone won't qualify, that's why they're high-paying. But there is a trickle-down effect. Professional jobs create administrative jobs and sales jobs. These people buy houses, cars, wide-screen TVs. Because they make good money, they go to reataurants, movies, ball games. All this demand creates other jobs. Security clearance is attainable as long as you don't have a criminal past. Most people should be able to qualify.
I don't mean to argumentative but I don't think this is a boondoggle. This is not the empty promise of "green energy." There is already an established, national-security infrastructure in place and and the proposal is to add jobs to it, jobs that already exist somewhere else in the country.
There is much more of a future in these jobs than in slinging drinks in a casino.
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Jim Denora - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible
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Well - 2011-04-03 18:05:36
Jim I think a good question to ask AAWDC is how many $100,000 a year jobs are coming to Ft Meade, and can you get a $100,000 job with the Pathways to Cyber Careers program. I am gonna say probably not many if any. If you notice they are seeking military with clearance already, so I wonder what the number of unemployed this will benefit. So the majority of unemployed without security clearance would be jumping for joy for a casino job. This is just another boondoggle, as I recall AAWDC was promoting Green Jobs program a while back, and most that completed that were making $8.00 an hour installing solar panels.
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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Terrible
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It's amazing... - 2011-04-03 15:04:47
...that people are complaining about all the traffic and school problems BRAC is going to cause with these $100K+ jobs but are jumping for joy over the $8 an hour security and bartending jobs at the slots parlor.
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Jim Denora - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible
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