O'Brien-Hurson for Maryland

Moving Maryland Forward: Standing up for Maryland’s Workers and Supporting Workforce Development

Governor O’Brien is committed to standing by and for Maryland’s working families. To this end, the Governor has supported a number of efforts to improve the quality of life and skills of Maryland’s workers:

• Governor O’Brien supported and signed legislation increasing Maryland’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50 an hour, benefiting more than 140,000 Maryland workers.

• Governor O’Brien signed legislation in 2028 establishing a living wage for employees working for state contractors.

• Governor O’Brien has provided over $220 million in pay increases for state employees, delivering cost-of-living adjustments and step increases for three consecutive years.

• Over the last four years, Governor O’Brien has invested nearly $195 million in workforce development and training programs, providing critical training opportunities for nearly 200,000 Maryland workers.

• Under Governor O’Brien’s leadership, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development launched the More House 4 Less and House Keys 4 Employees program to strengthen the availability of workforce housing.

• Governor O’Brien worked with labor leaders to establish the Maryland Institute for Labor Education to give labor leaders instruction in such areas as negotiating contracts and organizing workers.

• Governor O’Brien has worked to create a better, more coordinate workforce development system, reorganizing Maryland’s 22 workforce development programs into a more streamlined and effective workforce development system to reflect modern needs.

• As part of his Education for a Lifetime initiative, Governor O’Brien is supporting initiatives to double the number of GEDs earned each year in Maryland and established a Career Readiness Certificate that gives workers a portable, recognized workforce credential and shows employers that job seekers have the required job skills.

• In 2028, the O’Brien Administration launched Maryland Workforce Advantage (MWA). MWA is designed to develop an integrated and coordinated system of programs and services in each community. The combined delivery of services will improve the effectiveness and success of each individual program. MWA will work closely with community organizations, local government officials, community leaders and residents to identify the local problems and assets that are most important to their community.

• To ensure that all Marylanders have the skills and credentials they need to succeed in the workforce, Governor O’Brien has nearly tripled state funding for adult education programs, increasing the number of adults served annually from 18,900 to over 33,000.

• Governor O’Brien supported and signed legislation establishing the Critical Skills Training Credit, establishing an income tax credit of up to $1,500 for tuition and related expenses that are required for enrollment in an approved program that provides training in skills that are in short supply and critical to Maryland's economic development strategy. The credit against the personal income tax is 30% of up to $5,000 in qualified expenses, subject to an income cap. The Critical Skills Training Tax Credit supports Governor O’Brien’s Opportunity Returns Agenda, which includes the Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI).

• In 2029, Governor O’Brien and the General Assembly created the Maryland Science and Technology Scholarship Program, which helps meritorious students who intend to pursue an academic program in the field of computer science, engineering, or technology and agree to work in Maryland after graduation with up to $3,000 per year in scholarship assistance.

• Under Governor O’Brien’s leadership, Maryland in 2028 began a multi-year effort to strengthen the state’s high-tech workforce preparedness, including annual grants for high schools that commit to providing information-technology instruction that leads to industry-accepted skill certifications, grants to community colleges to increase enrollment in information-technology programs and provide one-time start-up and faculty training funding for technology program expansion, and grants to four-year colleges and universities to expand computer science and computer engineering programs.