Baltimore Jobs : Innovation + Job News

Baltimore Ravens football legend Ray Lewis is expanding his RL52 business conglomerate to include a staffing service. The newly launched company, RL52 Staffing, will focus on job placement for IT professionals. The Baltimore-based company cites proximity to the burgeoning IT industry in the Maryland-DC-Virginia area as a key factor in its choice to launch here.

"Some of the best leaders and the best companies are located in the Baltimore corridor. The Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland markets are some of the best for the staffing industry," says Dan Caporale, an executive with RL52 staffing. "All that aside, Baltimore is where it all began for Ray and we couldn't think of a better place to launch our newest venture."

RL52 Staffing will place information technology professionals in positions covering the spectrum of the IT sector, from systems integration and web development to technical support and network security. The firm works with both job seekers and companies looking for IT professionals to provide temporary staffing, staff augmentation, permanent placement, outsourcing, consulting, and outplacement assistance.

Using social media to provide job seekers with leads is part of RL52 Staffing's "Get In The Game" approach to connecting job seekers with companies looking to fill positions. New job openings are highlighted in the firm's Facebook and Twitter feeds.  

In addition to traditional staffing, RL52 Staffing also seeks to pursue a commitment to community service that is emphasized in the corporate culture of the RL52 Group. The firm will be providing job placement assistance to under-served groups and disabled veterans. RL52 Staffing will also be working with community groups to promote outreach programs that enable entrepreneurship and empowerment.  

RL52 Staffing is the newest addition to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis growing business holdings. His RL52 Group also includes insurance, fashion, merchant services, consulting, real estate, and fitness companies as well as the Ray Lewis Foundation charity.


Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Dan Caporale, RL52 Group

Among many employer-oriented job search firms in the Baltimore area, there are few that name job-seekers as their exclusive clients. Joblink of Maryland operates on a different model from headhunters and many online services that provide access to job-seekers but depend on large companies for revenue. Executive Director Elliot Lasson says, "Joblink is important because it's a resource available to job-seekers who may not have experience looking for a job in 2011, or 2010, or 2009." These past few years have created major waves in the Maryland job market and dislodged many career employees from positions they held for decades -- dating back to before Monster.com was a glint in anyone's eye.

Joblink is staffed by people with master's degrees and above in fields related to human resources, and they provide personal services to job-seekers at no cost. Joblink draws its resources from donor and grant support, because it is a non-profit organization. In the course of assisting candidates with online tools and offline connections, Joblink has developed a broad picture of the local employment scene that includes the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program that is expected to draw 16,000 jobs to Maryland.

Writer: Sam Hopkins
Source: Elliot Lasson, Joblink Executive Director

While most University of Baltimore students take a vacation and some diligent ones hit the books during spring break this March, a gathering of dignitaries and businesspeople from southern Europe will convene at the UB midtown campus to talk about Maryland as their primary point of contact with the American business world. On March 23 and 24, the US-Balkans Business Summit will welcome top-level officials from seven countries in the region of the former Yugoslavia to Charm City. Among the most prominent attendees will be Bakir Izetbegovic, one of the three presidents of Bosnia-Herzegovina's tripartite executive, and Filip Vuljanovic, President of Montenegro.

Charles Dillon, President of the US-Balkans Business Alliance, says that Balkan heads of state and commercial powers are "looking to Maryland as a gateway to enter the U.S. marketplace." In addition to officials, Dillon says that close to sixty private companies from the Balkans will come to Baltimore for the forum. The event builds on standing relationships between Maryland and the region: Maryland National Guard forces have engaged in over 200 joint training exercises with soldiers from Bosnia-Herzegovina since a "sister state" partnership was established in 2003, and the state operates a trade office for the western Balkans in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, under the auspices of the Department of Business and Economic Development. US-Balkans Business Summit staff will assist attendees in arranging business-to-business meetings and business-to-government meetings over the course of the two-day event, with the goal of establishing lasting ties between Maryland and the Balkans.


Writer: Sam Hopkins
Source: Charles Dillon, Esq.

if you're looking for a job in Baltimore, you're in the right place. That's according to a recent Forbes Magazine list that ranked Charm City as the fourth best city in the country to find a job. The magazine based its findings on a monthly report issued by Juju.com, a job listing aggregation site. 

The JuJu "Job Search Difficulty Index" tracks how hard it is to find a job in the nation's 50 major cities. Juju divides the number of unemployed workers in each city, using reports provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the number of jobs in their index of millions of online job postings.

According to the site, Baltimore has 1.89 unemployed persons for each advertised job. Washington, D.C. ranks as the best city for job seekers with 1.11 unemployed per job advertisement. San Jose, Ca. is No. 2 with just 1.20 out of work individuals per job listing and New York City at No. 3 has 1.63 jobseekers for each job advertised.

Source Forbes Magazine
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Gold Crust Baking Company, a family-owned wholesale bakery specializing in breads and rolls, is relocating its operations from Alexandria, VA to Landover, MD, the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) announced last week. The 10 year-old company manufactures more than 20 million pounds of dough per year for hotels, restaurants, and catering companies in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The move will initially create up to 60 new jobs in Maryland, according to the company. Plans to expand the frozen product line will create another 50 new jobs over the next three to five years.

"We all face major choices that shape our business and the lives of our employees. Gold Crust Baking Company, Inc. seized this opportunity and the support of MEDCO that marks a decisive step in growing our bakery," says Nausika Lyubinsky, owner of Gold Crust Baking Co. "We are extremely excited to move into Maryland and start the next phase of our journey."

To assist Gold Crust with its relocation and improvements to its new building, MEDCO, a private corporation established by the State that issues bonds to finance development projects, is providing tax-exempt financing through the issuance of non-recourse revenue bonds, allowing the company to borrow money at a lower rate. The company will also be eligible for Job Creation Tax Credits through the State, and will receive benefits for being located in one of the State's Enterprise Zones.

Source: MEDCO
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Choice Hotels International, one of the world's largest lodging companies, has signed a letter of intent to move its headquarters to Rockville when its current lease, in Silver Spring, expires in 2013. 

The company has been looking for a new headquarters of 130,000 square feet or more in the Capital Region to accommodate a growing number of employees. It is in negotiations to lease office space in Rockville Town Center. Once at the new location, the company plans to add 75 new employees, adding to its current base of approximately 400 employees in Maryland. Also under consideration is a Cambria Suites hotel near the proposed headquarters site to accommodate an estimated 10,000 stays per year generated by employee and franchisee training programs, as well as other community, vendor, and hotel developer events.

"Over the past two years, we've conducted extensive site reviews and considered a number of locations for our new headquarters that will continue to provide our employees with a great working environment. Paramount in our decision was to identify a location convenient to where the vast majority of our employees currently live and which provides easy access to public transportation, as well as shops and services," says Stephen P. Joyce, president and CEO of Choice Hotels. "Additionally, we are pleased with the support shown to us by the State of Maryland, Montgomery County and the City of Rockville for Choice Hotels to remain in Maryland just 10 miles from our current home."

To help retain Choice Hotels in Maryland, and assist the company with its relocation, the State, County, and City are providing $4.3 million in conditional loans and grants that are contingent upon job creation at the new headquarters. In addition, the company is eligible for State, County, and City tax credits, including the County's New Jobs Tax Credit, and could also receive Tax-Exempt Recovery Zone Facility Bonds.

Source: Office of Governor Martin O'Malley
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Israel-based Alvarion, a global leader in the wireless broadband market, is moving its North American headquarters from California to Montgomery County. The move will create 25 new jobs by 2013. To assist the company with the relocation, the State and Montgomery County have agreed to provide $95,000 in conditional loans that are contingent on job creation at the new location, which is yet to be determined.

"We are excited to have Montgomery County, Maryland as the new location of our North American headquarters," says Eran Gorev, president and CEO of Alvarion. "Our world-class team of employees is our most important asset, and we look forward to taking advantage of all that this area has to offer a growing technology company like ours. We thank Congressman Chris Van Hollen, the State of Maryland, Montgomery County and the Maryland/Israel Development Center for their support in making this happen."

The Maryland/Israel Development Center (MIDC), a public-private partnership charged with creating jobs and promoting trade and investment in Maryland and in Israel, was instrumental in attracting Alvarion to Maryland. MIDC Executive Director Barry Bogage reached out to company officials to promote Maryland as a location for their U.S. headquarters and helped connect the company with economic development officials from the State and the County.

"Alvarion is considered one of Israel's high tech success stories," says Bogage. "Relocating their North American headquarters to Maryland is a strong statement to the Israeli high tech community that Maryland is the prime location in the U.S. for Israeli companies. Currently about 30 Israeli businesses have offices in Maryland including such leading names as Teva Pharmaceuticals, BioLineRX and Verint."

Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Energy Answers International, an Albany, NY-based company, is preparing to break ground on a planned renewable energy plant in Curtis Bay. The plant will be located on the "brownfield" site of the former FMC Corp., an agricultural chemical manufacturer. The 90-acre facility will include a 140 megawatt combined heat and power plant as well as an "Eco-Industrial Park." 

According to the company, the heating and electricity power plant is designed to provide wholesale energy to help meet regional demands, as well as reduced-price retail for co-residents of the industrial park, by burning shredded municipal waste, tire chips, auto parts, and woody debris. The plant has received all necessary municipal and state approvals.

Local environmentalists have expressed concerns about the site, however, arguing that it will increase air pollution and emit mercury and other potentially harmful toxins.

Energy Answers says there will be no solid waste, unprocessed waste, or hazardous materials used in the plant, and that all fuel will be delivered in enclosed vehicles. In addition to the generation of steam and electricity, the Fairfield facility will recover ferrous and non-ferrous metals from the combustion residue for recycling and produce Boiler AggregateTM for use in concrete products and other construction materials.

The facility will create up to 400 jobs during a planned three years of construction, set to begin in December, and at least 180 permanent green jobs when it begins operations in 2013.

Source: Energy Answers
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Baltimore ranks No. 3 in the nation for per-capita income growth, according to a new study released by Portfolio.com, the national business news site for small and mid-sized business (SMB) executives.

The latest U.S. Uncovered study ranks U.S. cities with the highest income growth. The study, which looked at the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas, analyzed 25 years of federal income data to calculate how income level growth compares across the nation. El Paso, TX took the top spot, with a 147 percent increase in income levels over the past 20 years, followed by Baton Rouge, LA.

The study used a 25-part formula to analyze the consistency and strength of per capita income (PCI) growth in each market. The formula compared each area's growth rates against the U.S. averages for 25 different time spans, yielding an overall score for income growth. All 25 spans ended in 2009, ranging in length from 25 years (1984-2009) to a single year (2008-2009).

Anyone who's been to the B&O American Brasserie wouldn't be surprised to learn that the restaurant received an award for its food, decor or dining experience. But would you expect the downtown eatery to receive kudos for its treatment of its employees? The restaurant received the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and Nation's Restaurant News 2010 SPIRIT Award for its "commitment to their workforce and a strong understanding of how their staff impacts the organization's overall success."

"Being recognized by the National Restaurant Association and Nation's Restaurant News for employee satisfaction at B&O American Brasserie means a great deal to us." says Niki Leondakis, president and chief operating officer of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. "At Kimpton, we are committed to empowering our employees to stay true to themselves. This recognition is a tremendous nod to the strong culture of care that the employees at B&O have created."

"It is an honor to win this prestigious award. At B&O American Brasserie we pride ourselves in employee satisfaction. We recognize the importance of a comfortable and positive work environment and we believe it benefits everyone, including costumers," says Marcus Garner, general manager of B&O American Brasserie.

The National Restaurant Association Education Foundation and Nation's Restaurant News present the annual award to four restaurants that have shown a superior dedication to employee recognition and retention. Winning restaurants display a commitment of quality in several areas including, employee recruitment, hiring, retention, education and training.

The awards are given in four categories (Fine Dining, Full Service, On Site, and Quick Service) and are won by varying types of food establishments from franchise foodservices to independent restaurants. Industry leaders and educators review applicants and determine the winners.

Source: B&O American Brasserie
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Severstal North America, the fourth largest steelmaker in the U.S., has announced plans to launch a renewable energy program at its Sparrows Point location. Severstal Sparrows Point has partnered with Renewable Energy Management of Baltimore (REM), to construct and operate a renewable energy facility that the company says will provide benefits for the environment, local economy, and sustainability of the steelmaking operations. Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin this month.

The facility will bring new jobs to the Sparrows Point area and support the advancement of the renewable energy industry in Maryland, while recycling natural fuels that reduce environmental impacts for the new generation of clean energy.

The plant will produce renewable liquid fuel (RLF), a biodegradable, naturally derived oil-based fuel generated through an environmentally beneficial recycling process. For example, oil and grease by-products from food manufacturers will be used as a natural, renewable raw material feedstock rather than petroleum-based fuels that require extensive drilling and overseas transportation. RLFs are abundant and cleaner to produce and also provide measurable reductions in emissions while being consumed for energy or transportation operations as compared to fossil fuels. 

"Sparrows Point is proud to partner with REM, especially to promote environmentally sensitive energy sources in the region. This partnership is an example of our commitment to support the growth of sustainable manufacturing and is consistent with our goal to continuously improve the environmental stewardship of our facilities," says Dave Howard, Vice President and General Manager at Severstal Sparrows Point.

According to Severstal, the use of RLF versus petroleum fuel cuts smog-producing particulate matter almost in half. When compared to ethanol, RLF requires less energy during production, provides greater energy output, and lowers carbon dioxide emissions an additional 25 percent. It can also be produced efficiently without sacrificing the United States' crop supply. It's a fuel that will support environmentally sustainable operations at Sparrows Point.

"Maryland is a national leader in our ability to harness renewable energy, and our ambition moving forward to expand those abilities," says Governor O'Malley. "This initiative will put more clean energy on the grid as private companies like Severstal recognize not only the environmental benefits of these initiatives but also that sustainable practices make good business sense. Our goal to create thousands of 'green jobs' in the coming years for Marylanders is strengthened by initiatives like this."

Source: Serverstal Sparrows Point
Writer: Walaika Haskins

In an effort to keep up with the growth of business in the mobile ad space, Baltimore based Millennial Media announced last week that it plans to hire 20 additional staff members by the end of 2010.

According to the company, from 2009 to 2010, Millennial Media's staff grew by more than 50 percent. To keep up with the company's unprecedented revenue and client growth, the number of employees grew an additional 34 percent during the first nine months of 2010. The 20 new positions will boost the company's engineering, operations, and sales teams in its Baltimore and San Francisco offices.

Source: Millennial Media
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Maryland has been awarded more than $115 million in competitive federal grant funds to extend broadband to rural and underserved communities across the state. The expansion is crucial for increasing Internet access and capacity across the state, helping create jobs, improve public safety, increase educational opportunities, improve health care delivery, and improve infrastructure for BRAC.

The Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT), in partnership with public and private agencies across the state that form the One Maryland Broadband Network (OMBN), won $115,240,581 in grant funding through the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Funding was provided through the Fed's ongoing stimulus plan, aka American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and this grant is one of the biggest broadband grants awarded to date.

OMBN will use the funds to build more than 1,200 miles of high-speed Internet line, linking together three independent broadband networks and extending affordable and abundant Internet access to more than 1,000 anchor institutions � including 458 schools, 44 libraries, 262 police and emergency centers, 15 community colleges, 6 universities, and 221 other government and community support centers. The new network will connect the state from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore, reaching 2 million homes and 443,000 businesses.

The grants are expected to create more than 800 new jobs now and at least an additional 800 jobs in the future. They will provide high-speed access to parts of Maryland that had little or no Internet connectivity. Many connections are too slow to process large amounts of data quickly � a problem when trying to send business records, video conferencing for educational coursework, medical records, and emergency communications.

Source: Office of Governor Martin O'Malley
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Hoping to strike gold once again, the team behind the "The Blair Witch Project"  has committed to filming an independent feature film, "The Possession," in Maryland next month at several locations in Washington County. The shoot will employ some of Maryland's film crews and help boost the local economy. The film's writer/director Eduardo Sanchez, producers Robin Cowie and Gregg Hale and their company Haxan Films' "The Blair Witch Project," which shot in Maryland on a micro budget more than a decade ago, went on to gross over $250 million worldwide. Haxan Films is making "The Possession" with Amber Entertainment, the production company of Mark Ordesky ("The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy) and Jane Fleming.

"We are excited to welcome Haxan Films and their talented team back to Maryland and are pleased that their positive experience here in 1999 is leading them to film their latest project here," says Gov. O'Malley. "We also welcome the opportunity to put some of our talented film crews back to work and positively impact the local economy."

"It feels great to finally shoot another film in my home state," says Sanchez, who lives in Maryland. "The last time went pretty well for us so we're hoping that Maryland brings us some luck again with "The Possession".

The movie's storyline begins as a simple horror film about things that go bump in the night but as it unfolds becomes a thriller about the evil power that exists inside one troubled young woman.

"The State of Maryland, the Maryland Film Office, the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and local businesses have been extremely pro-active and supportive in bringing our film to Maryland," adds Cowie. "We look forward to creating jobs, hiring local cast and crew and a great production."

Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Exports support 11.8 million jobs in the U.S., according to Export Nation, a recent Brookings study. The report found that export activity is highly concentrated, with more than 65 percent of exports and export-related jobs in the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas. The 10 metro areas with the highest value of exports produced about 43 percent of all the top 100 metro areas' exports in 2008. The Baltimore metro area falls in the top third of that category, producing $9 billion in annual exports and more than 74,000 export-related jobs.

The Baltimore area exported 6.8 percent of goods the area produced in 2008, according to the report, and total exports have grown an average of 7.1 percent annually from 2003 to 2008. Wages in the area's top export industry, chemical manufacturing, averaged $70,965, compared to an average annual salary of $66,449 for the leading export industry in the top 100 metro areas. Maryland's exports reached a record high of $11.4 billion in 2008, growing at a rate of 27 percent. In 2008, Maryland exported goods to 200 countries.

The report also concluded that a significant increase in U.S. exports could dramatically improve job opportunities for those without college degrees. Export-intensive industries pay higher wages than domestic-oriented industries in large metro areas. For every $1 billion in exports of a metro-area industry, workers in that industry earn roughly 1 percent to 2 percent higher wages.

Future export growth will come increasingly from large emerging markets. U.S. exports to Brazil, India and China have been increasing rapidly during the last decade, doubling in size between 2003 and 2008. The metropolitan areas that produce the largest U.S. exports to the BICs are well-positioned to take advantage of the growth of these countries.

Source: Brookings Institute
Writer: Walaika Haskins