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Garrett College asks for $50,000 ARC grant to update welding lab and expand offerings
Summary
Garrett College requested $50,000 from the ARC to buy multiprocess welders and a band saw for its continuing-education welding program, enabling instruction in stick, MIG and TIG welding and allowing new classes such as aluminum and pipe welding; the dean said enrollment demand exceeded capacity this year.
Garrett College requested $50,000 in Appalachian Regional Commission funding to expand its continuing-education welding program.
Julie Hoder, Dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development at Garrett College, told the commissioners the welding program — offered through the Wendell R. Beitzel Career Technology Training Center since 2010 — currently includes three courses (preparation for welding, Welding I and Welding II). The program runs about eight months with classes two evenings per week and issues credentials including OSHA-10, NCCER core construction credentials and eligibility for American Welding Society (AWS) D1.1 testing.
Hoder said equipment is aging and limited primarily to stick welding. The requested $50,000 would purchase multiprocess welders capable of stick, MIG and TIG welding and a band saw to improve safety and efficiency. That, she said, would allow the college to offer aluminum welding (useful for marinas and docks) and pipe-welding classes that local employers have requested.
Enrollment pressure: Hoder said interest has returned since COVID-era declines; in the current fiscal year, 20 students sought welding instruction and the college ran two sections. She also said “80 of the students enrolled this year were served by the county scholarship” (presenter’s phrasing). No formal county decision on the ARC request was made at the meeting.
Next steps: the ARC funding request will be included in the county’s ranked submission to the Tri-County Council of Western Maryland by the May 16 deadline; the region will then prioritize projects for ARC awards.
