LAVALE — Allegany College of Maryland’s Western Maryland Works and Makerspace continues to bring opportunities to the region.
“So, whether you’re just a maker or you’re adult education, the whole mission behind this place is to train people, give them skills,” Shawn O’Rourk, Western Maryland Works director, said. “Whether those are personal enrichment skills, skills to get a job to us — we don’t differentiate or care. People come to use the space, they learn, they grow, they become more self-sufficient. Hopefully some of those lead to jobs and careers.”
Western Maryland Works occupies a 33,000-square-foot facility in LaVale and offers advanced manufacturing workforce skills in both classroom and hands-on settings in areas ranging from 3D printing to woodworking.
The program is about six years old and has been responsible for many students gaining skills that led to employment in the region.
The program also partners with businesses in the community to help meet local demands.
“So, it’s about going out and finding what the demands are so we don’t lose the jobs in our area,” O’Rourk said. “We build our community and we build our area, and our living wage goes up and our quality of living goes up not just for individuals, but our whole area.”
Since opening, Western Maryland Works has given out 50 certificates to welding students and five for those in the machining program. Ten students have graduated from the automated manufacturing technology program, which is a credited two-year degree.
Colton Bender began classes at Western Maryland Works in 2020 while also a student at the Allegany County Center for Career and Technical Education. After graduation, he went to Allegany College of Maryland to pursue an engineering degree, which also required him to work on projects there.
After receiving an engineering degree, Bender now serves as the equipment technician for Western Maryland Works, has his own 3D printing business and serves as an emergency medical technician and firefighter.
“Everything I’ve done here has helped me build up to where I am now,” Bender said.
O’Rourk said the resources offered by Western Maryland Works often go unnoticed or underutilized by the community with only 20 people having memberships for the Makerspace component of the facility.
Makerspace offers $40 monthly subscriptions that allows individuals to operate high-end industry equipment and software in a graphics-oriented digital fabrication lab and woodshop. O’Rourk said some people create their own small businesses out of the work they produce through the Makerspace.
“That’s kind of the whole mantra of this place — if you have an idea in your head, and if you can articulate it, and put it on a napkin and come up here, there’s guys that can teach you, show you how to kind of achieve that idea and put it out into the world,” he said.
Those interested in learning more about Makerspace and Western Maryland Works can find more information online at https://www.allegany.edu/western-maryland-works/index.html.
“The end goal is that you run into these students in 10 years, and they’re like, ‘Hey, I got a job, I got a house, I got a car, I’m doing well, I started a family’ and that’s what this is supposed to do,” he said.