Maryland Tech Council’s inMD Platform to be Added to the Governor’s Budget for Next Fiscal Year

Annapolis, MD, December 16, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Wednesday afternoon Governor Hogan announced a new initiative called the More Jobs for Maryland Act 2.0 to incentivize and increase more job creation across the state. This new legislation will not only provide targeted strategic state support to help grow jobs in Maryland, but it will increase the number of tax credits under the program from 9 to 15 million dollars and extend the sunset date from 2020 to 2023. Earlier this year the administration launched Excel MD, which focuses on new collaborative strategies to excel growth in bio, life sciences and cyber. With a low unemployment rate of 3.8% and all of the job creation associated with these initiatives Maryland’s accelerated growth is worth being watched.

The Maryland Technology Council is even more excited about Governor Hogan’s announcement about providing “funding for the inMD social network technology platform and the Maryland Tech Internship program in order to encourage more internships in the technology sector and to motivate Maryland companies to hire and retain the outstanding students that we are training.” “The Maryland Technology Council is thrilled that Governor Hogan is continuing to make the creation of a talented workforce in tech and biotech a top priority for the state of Maryland. Funding the inMD internship platform and creating a way for Maryland's smaller companies to be reimbursed for expenses associated with interns will help create a workforce trained at the highest levels and keep our top talent in Maryland,” says Tami Howie, CEO of the Maryland Technology Council. inMD is a partnership between the Maryland Technology Council, Breezio, Fearless, the Maryland Department of Commerce and with support from the Maryalnd Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to bring internships and apprenticeships to tech and biotech companies. The Maryland Technology Council’s member companies, Breezio’s community platform and Fearless’s User Interface Design come together to create the next generation marketplace for talent & industry in Maryland. Karen McCord, CEO of Breezio states, “We know first-hand the difference that talented interns can make to a tech company and we are thrilled to be partnering with the Maryland Tech Council, Fearless and Maryland Department of Commerce to help solve this problem with our software platform."

What is inMD?

inMD is not just another job board, it is a digital marketplace where students, mentors and companies converge in an online learning and information exchange. By posting internships, sharing company information, and engaging employees in the community the inMD ecosystem will be the community where students actively explore career options and earn badges for completing training based on company or industry, doing informational interviews, and interacting with industry experts. inMD uses data collected to score the user, to send user recommendations and match students, mentors and companies.

Companies need qualified talent and students need internships if our state is to continue to prosper. Currently, no central location for these connections exists. The inMD marketplace will focus on helping to attract talent by centralizing the candidate pool, training and prequalifying candidates according to needs, and then delivering the right candidates to the right companies. Check out inMD now by visiting http://in-md.org.

Governor Hogan goes on to say, “Now with our new inMD platform Marylanders will have a one stop shop for internships in areas including life science, cyber and manufacturing. inMD will provide virtual training and mentorship programs, as well as experiential learning opportunities. We are funding the Maryland Technology Internship Program for the first time in state history, which will provide companies with reimbursements up to $3,000 for internship stipends. Under the program, the state will match up to 50% of the stipend provided by the company.”

With this kind of state backing the focus on accessing, training and keeping talent and business in Maryland is being treated like the priority that it is. “Dynamic workforce development programs give Maryland employees and employers the opportunity to thrive,” said Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Kelly M. Schulz. “Our forward-looking programs - such as Youth and Registered Apprenticeships - give Marylanders new ways to gain experience and offer alternative pathways to careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics industries.”

Governor Hogan finished the afternoon press conference where he announced his initiatives for More Jobs For Maryland Act 2.0 by saying, “We are continuing our focus on jobs, jobs, jobs,” and, “continuing our very successful efforts to create tens of thousands of new high paying jobs for Marylanders.”