Advanced Manufacturing and Semiconductor Workforce

Arizona is home to a semiconductor and advanced manufacturing boom. With investments from the CHIPS Act, the state is home to major manufacturers, suppliers, and partners who are in need of a ready workforce to meet these growing demands.

Arizona’s community colleges, universities, Career and Technical Education Districts, and state agencies are working to increase education and training opportunities to ensure Arizonans are ready for these jobs of the future.

With leadership from the Arizona Commerce Authority, they are convening a Semiconductor Task Force is leading the Arizona Semiconductor Task Force to coordinate and collaborate with system partners.

Highlights:

  • Maricopa Community Colleges was awarded a $1.7M grant from the NSTC Workforce Partners Alliance by Natcast for its semiconductor workforce development program. These efforts will support the expansion of its semiconductor technician training offerings and launch the Maricopa Accelerated Semiconductor Training (MAST) program. As part of the initiative, MCCCD will collaborate with the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and the Arizona Commerce Authority to ensure the training aligns with industry needs.
  • Arizona Commerce Authority committed to investing $4M to support Registered Apprenticeship programs in the semiconductor industry. ACA announced a partnership with the SEMI Foundation that will grow apprenticeship program, develop an employer collaborative, and cover costs for participation in the programs.
  • Maricopa Community Colleges’ Quick Start program is a 10-day accelerated training program for Semiconductor Technician roles. The program is offered at three of Maricopa’s campuses: Mesa, Estrella Mountain and Chandler-Gilbert Community Colleges.
  • Maricopa Community College’s Future48 Workforce Semiconductor Accelerator. When funded, the accelerator will launch a new delivery model for Maricopa, where students and industry will gather for training and networking. The accelerator will house various Advanced Manufacturing programs that provide pathways to meet the occupational and technological training needs of the semiconductor industry. Program offerings discussed will include CNC machining used to build vacuum technology and support semi-equipment repair; Automated Industrial Technology (AIT); HAVC; and water treatment, all designed to prepare technicians for semiconductor-related job roles.
  • Maricopa Community Colleges currently offers 31 degree and certificate programs that either directly or indirectly support semiconductor career training and development.
  • The BuildItAZ program is working to double the number of construction and trades registered apprentices by 2026. These apprenticeships will support many fields, including the construction of the new fabs coming to the greater Phoenix area.
  • Phoenix Workforce Hub: In January 2024, the City of Phoenix and senior officials from the Biden-Harris Administration announced a $5 million commitment from TSMC to establish a new semiconductor technician Registered Apprenticeship Program. The announcement also included a $5 million commitment from philanthropic organizations to provide 1,500 Arizonans with supportive services to enter in-demand jobs of the future, new partnerships between unions and community colleges, and more.
  • Child Care Study: Arizona state agencies are collaborating to conduct a Childcare Needs Study to assess gaps across the state across all industries as well as challenges specific to the semiconductor industry.
  • Arizona Pipe Trades plans to expand its Joint Apprenticeship Training Center after receiving a $15 million investment from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
  • Launch of the Innovation and Craft Workforce Center to support the development of Arizona’s future construction trade workforce.
  • Developing Engineers: Arizona’s three state universities, ASU, NAU and UofA, are producing the largest, single state engineering enrollment in the United States.
    • ASU offers 25 undergraduate programs and 50+ graduate programs, including a Semiconductor Processing program at the graduate level. ASU is also home to MacroTechnology Works, a facility that allows advanced research in partnership with industry. ASU also has NanoFab that is a nanoscale processing and fabrication facility at ASU and the Eyring Materials Center that provides academic and industry researchers with access to equipment for research. Additionally, ASU has non-degree programs that are helping workers upskill and reskill in microelectronics.
    • UofA offers four undergraduate and graduate programs that are advancing optical science and engineering.
  • Investments in University R&D: Additionally, the Arizona Commerce Authority invested $100M of ARPA funds into university infrastructure and workforce assets at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.
    • $47.5 million to ASU, enabling the first-of-its-kind Applied Materials/ASU Materials to Fab (MTF) Laboratory at ASU’s MacroTechnology Works facility and supporting the development of advanced packaging and GaN capabilities.
    • $35.5 million to the University of Arizona, enabling a major expansion of the university’s Micro/Nano Fabrication Center and advancing R&D and industry partnerships. The partnership includes a collaboration with Pima Community College and Central Arizona College to advance training.
    • $13 million to Northern Arizona University to launch the Microelectronics Metrology certificate program, training center, and research laboratory.
    • $4 million to establish Registered Apprenticeship Programs for semiconductor technicians
  • The Office of Economic Opportunity launched Ready, Tech, Go to align the Automated Industrial Technology programs across four community colleges.

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