Keeping local talent local: Md. Comptroller visits SBY businesses, organizations

SALISBURY, Md. – Keeping local talent local is a big goal for Salisbury’s business community. Wednesday, Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman paid a visit to organizations and businesses who are doing just that.

Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center

The Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center (PHJAC) is one of the first places that 10,000 local students will get a taste of making it in the real world.

“We truly believe getting kids out of the classroom, and getting their sleeves up and hands dirty, and trying things out is the only way to truly learn something,” said PHJAC President Jayme Hayes. “Students get to be an adult for an entire day in a simulated city. I mean, how cool is that?”

Come September, the organization will open the doors to its new facility on Tilghman Road. It includes a mini city, complete with non-profit organizations, store fronts, and learning opportunities. Each of which, is reflective of all that Salisbury actually has to offer.

School districts in Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester, and Accomack Counties have already signed on.

“I think so often, it’s an automatic reaction to tell people to go across the bridge for opportunity. And, there’s so much opportunity here on the shore,” said Hayes. “It’s a great place to raise a family, it’s a great place to work, it’s a great place of opportunity. I just feel like it’s our duty as a community to showcase that to all of our students.”

Hayes says the folks at PHJAC are thrilled at the prospect of helping to potentially keep thousands of talented young people local.

“It’s a lot, but I truly believe that any student that comes through this – I feel like this is the Disney of education – and once they come through here, they will never forget this experience,” said Hayes.

Pohanka Automotive Training Center

Just down the road at Pohanka, folks are getting on the job training. They include the people who make sure your vehicles are running safely and smoothly.

By the end of their training, Pohanka Training Manager David White says apprentices will be certified in all eight areas of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and manufacturer requirements.

“We do put them to work on a part time basis after about four weeks of being here. Then, they could work full time for us, even while they’re here at the academy,” said White. “We’re always looking for employees who can actually help us service our cars, sell our cars, do everything. And, basically, we need them to stay here.”

White says by providing a clear path to employment for locals, he hopes that they will see all the opportunities that staying close to home can offer.

“We do have the opportunities for them here to make a good living, and the Eastern Shore is a great place to live,” said White.

Arcon Training Center

And over at Arcon Training Center, trainees are learning all the basics, from safety, to technical proficiency. Arcon is also helping to provide a pipeline of workers who will support the blossoming offshore wind industry.

“We technically are one of the first offshore wind-dedicated training center in North America. We started roughly ten years ago, started off with welding. Then, added metal fabrication,” said Arcon strategic advisor Benjamin Etherton.

Etherton says the team at Arcon has already seen the fruits of trainees’ labor in the region.

“A lot of our welding students went on to work at local ship building yards and steel manufacturers, and things like that. They’re ultimately going to help support the offshore wind industry,” he said. “We’ve had everyone from chefs on boats to the captains, the technicians themselves that are going to fix things or construct and build. Union members, iron workers, things of that nature have all come down.”

In a bigger sense, Etherton says the roots of many of those work at Arcon run deep in Salisbury, and on the Eastern Shore. Adding, being able to support a new, and promising industry, is extremely important to Arcon’s mission.

And now, they’re looking for even more ways to expand.

“We help market some of the necessary equipment for safety, PPE, things of that nature; the harnesses, the vests, the life rafts, the helmets,” said Etherton. “We decided at one point that either we could have a whole bunch of competitors in the market, because other training centers are popping up across the country. Or, we could step out into the market as consultants to help all these other training centers get their programs up and running.”

“So much opportunity”

Comptroller Lierman says a visit to Salisbury is always a good one; it’s a prime example of what happens when you invest in your own community, and share the wealth, she says.

“There’s so much opportunity and potential on the shore, and all different parts of Maryland. We want to make sure that, here, we are meeting with our Comptroller employees on the shore, but also seeing the amazing work that’s happening,” said Comptroller Lierman. “It’s like little Maryland in miniature, if Maryland is America in miniature. So, there’s a lot of great potential and opportunity in Salisbury.”

The Comptroller adds that she plans to take all the information and ideas gathered in Salisbury Wednesday, back to Annapolis. “We’ve got great groups here where everybody comes together to discuss the future, and make sure it’s strong,” she said.