What if you could go to school for free, finish in just five weeks and connect with employers for a job that pays around $55,000 a year? For Glen Burnie’s Indie Fairchild, that opportunity was life-changing.
“The scholarship for this alone is just huge. I would not have been here otherwise,” he said.
Thanks to a Maryland Works for Wind grant awarded by the Maryland Department of Labor in January, Anne Arundel Community College will expand its welding lab at the Clauson Center for Innovation and Skilled Trades by 50%, allowing more students to enroll and receive full scholarships. The initiative is part of a statewide effort to grow Maryland’s skilled workforce and support future energy-sector needs.
“Our grant award is helping us to make training available to a wider audience of community members who may never have considered a career in the skilled trades before,” said Dana Marron, assistant dean of the School of Workforce Development and Continuing Education. “The already high demand for welding, fabrication and blueprint reading skills in our region will only increase with the Key Bridge Rebuild Project and Maryland’s offshore wind projects on the horizon.”
The first cohort of seven welding students receiving scholarship funds began in March. Among them was Fairchild, who left a job in restaurant management to pursue a more stable and fulfilling path.
“I wanted to advance my career. I kind of hit a stopping block,” he said. “Times are tough too in the economy, so I really needed new opportunities.”
Specializing in shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), also known informally as stick welding, Fairchild sees opportunities ranging from teaching to underwater welding. AACC works with employment partners and offers career services to help students move into jobs right after completion.
“Strum Contracting is committed to a productive partnership with Anne Arundel Community College to advance and expand a skilled workforce in support of the offshore wind industry while bringing good jobs to communities impacted by offshore wind development, especially traditionally underserved communities,” said Teaera Strum, chief executive officer of Strum Contracting Company.
The program runs five weeks during the day or 15 weeks in the evening. Free information sessions are held online weekly.
Additional cohorts will start in May, July, August, September and November.