How Arizona Is Boosting its Semiconductor Advantage
September 20, 2024The semiconductor industry, and its entire value chain, is critical for US national security and economic competitiveness. Currently, Arizona is primed to boost its leadership in this sector given their existing footprint in semiconductor research, design, and production stretching across the state.
To build on Arizona’s existing strategic advantage, the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) hired CREC and SRI to understand how innovative facilities and training opportunities statewide can advance Arizona’s leading position in the semiconductor industry.
Kolu Wilson, Chief Workforce Officer for ACA, said the comprehensive inventory of education and training assets helped ACA take advantage of immediate opportunities to develop these assets. “CREC and SRI’s detailed report came at the exact right time. Thanks to their work, we can now fortify Arizona’s strategic advantage in this mission-critical sector with training and education partners.”
The semiconductor and microelectronics ecosystem in Arizona is supported by 630 unique assets, including 90 education and training providers, including post-secondary institutions, career and technical education districts, and private training providers. In addition to highlighting important R&D specializations at four-year universities, the team identified a critical role for community colleges and CTE programming in strengthening collaboration statewide.
CREC partnered with tech-based economic and workforce development strategists in SRI’s Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy to produce the inventory and accompanying report. By taking a holistic look at the semiconductor education and training assets in the state, Arizona is better positioned than ever to leverage their existing advantage in the sector and understand what data sets are required to make strategic long-term decisions.
For more information about analyzing industry sectors and regional economic activity, contact Allison Forbes at aforbes@crec.net.