THE Innovation Generation UW’s Innovation Wyrkshop Partners with Division of Vocational Rehabilitation on Statewide Makerspace Project
By Milton Ontiveroz Tyler Kerr, the University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science makerspace coordinator, and his team the past year have proven to be among statewide leaders of 3D-produced personal productive equipment for front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he and UW’s Innovation Wyrkshop team are collaborating with Wyoming’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) to become champions of providing valuable training to persons with disabilities. New Innovation Wyrkshop mini-makerspaces—aimed at high school students and young adults with disabilities—have been established in five Wyoming communities, thanks to $175,000 from Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS) Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) preemployment training funds. According to a 2018 Cornell University disability status report, the employment rate of working-age people with disabilities in Wyoming was 49.9 percent. In contrast, the employment rate of working-age people without disabilities that same year was 83.4 percent.
“There is absolutely no reason there needs to be such a sharp division,” Kerr says. “Makerspaces can help change that and equip young adults with critical workforce and technology skills.” The funds will help people with disabilities learn new skills and will help support the Innovation Wyrkshop’s fiveyear growth strategy, making the facilities and curriculum of the “Maker Access Pass” (MAP) training program more accessible. The MAP program has more than 60 individualized courses across seven facilities and more than 2,400 credentials earned to help students develop marketable skills. “A student can learn how to use equipment in one makerspace and be certified to operate the same type of equipment in all other MAP spaces,” Kerr says. “In effect, the program unlocks access to an entire network of participating MAP makerspaces—all for free.” Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS) Director Robin Sessions Cooley notes the partnership between UW and DWS will create much-needed opportunities.
