St. Mary’s County staff outlines regional workforce study, grants and mentorship push to shore up local talent pipeline

Lee Greeley, an economic development specialist with county staff, told the St. Mary’s County Economic Development Commission that business retention and workforce development remain the department’s top, ongoing priorities. Greeley said the department completed more than 200 business-retention and expansion (BRE) engagements last year and has been connecting employers with regional training and recruitment partners to head off labor shortages before they become critical. The department is preparing to bring an agreement with Towson University to the county commissioners for approval next week to conduct a Southern Maryland workforce study. Greeley said the study, funded and coordinated among St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties and the Navy, is intended to begin this fall and conclude in early 2026 and to inform a countywide workforce-attraction and retention master plan tied to the county’s comprehensive economic development strategy (SEDS). Greeley described concrete grant work: the regional Tri-County Council helped lead an application for the Maryland Department of Labor’s EARN grant, and the region received $100,000 last year to support manufacturing training. He said about 76 percent of those funds have been spent training 45 workers across six businesses, and a second round of funding is planned to support entry-level pipeline training. Commission members pressed staff on several topics, including how the county is preparing for artificial-intelligence impacts on skills demand and whether state retraining funds for affected contractors (RIF/ RIF-related programs) had been captured in planning. Greeley said workforce responses vary by industry and that partners such as the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, Maryland MEP and the State departments of Commerce and Labor are already working on training and adaptation. Commission members and staff described a mentorship, internship and outreach effort that includes the Southern Maryland 20/30 initiative, the Patuxent Partnership and the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance to create more internship and mentorship pathways from the base and local schools into county employers. Staff also highlighted quality-of-life efforts — including the St. Mary’s Young Professionals program and Visit Saint Mary’s — as essential to retaining workers after they are recruited. Formal actions at the meeting were limited to procedural items: the commission approved the meeting minutes by voice vote and later moved to adjourn. Staff did not seek or record final votes on programmatic items; the Towson University study agreement is scheduled for the county commissioner agenda next week. Greeley summarized the department’s role as convenor, saying its BRE work is intended to identify recurring employer needs and match them with training providers and grant opportunities so the county and regional partners can act proactively rather than reactively. Looking ahead, staff asked the commission to expect outreach associated with the regional workforce study and additional grant applications to expand training for incumbent and entry-level workers.