Most people use semiconductors all day without thinking about them. They are in phones, cars, laptops, appliances, medical devices and the systems running behind nearly every part of modern life. That is part of the challenge for the industry. The technology is everywhere, but the workforce behind it is still largely invisible to many students and families. Arizona is now taking on a larger role in changing that.
The Arizona Commerce Authority, the National Network for Microelectronics Education, the SEMI Foundation and regional partners announced NNME Southwest, a five-state workforce consortium designed to build clearer pathways into semiconductor and microelectronics careers. The Southwest node will be led by the Arizona Commerce Authority and includes partners across Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Southern California.
The designation gives Arizona a formal leadership role in a national workforce effort being built alongside the country’s semiconductor expansion, and the timing is not coincidental. While semiconductor investment has accelerated across the U.S., Arizona has become one of the most visible places where that growth is taking shape. But new fabs and packaging facilities answer only part of the question. The harder part is whether there will be enough people ready to run them.
“Arizona has become one of the nation’s most important regions for semiconductor and microelectronics innovation. Partnerships like NNME Southwest are critical to ensure that our state has the skilled workforce it needs to support the industry’s continued expansion and long-term success,” says Valerie Jones, vice chancellor of workforce and economic development for Maricopa Community Colleges.
A national landscape analysis conducted by the SEMI Foundation with McKinsey & Company projects the U.S. could face a shortfall of roughly 127,000 to 157,000 semiconductor and microelectronics workers by 2030. The jobs span far beyond engineering. Fabs need technicians, operators, facilities workers, equipment maintenance specialists, researchers, process engineers and people trained to work inside highly controlled manufacturing environments.
The goal is to shorten the distance between learning about microelectronics and being ready to work in it. That means focusing on the space between the classroom and the fab floor. Employers need students who understand the theory but also know what it feels like to work around cleanroom protocols, specialized equipment and production expectations. NNME Southwest is designed to bring industry closer to academic programs so courses, credentials, internships and hands-on training better reflect the jobs companies are trying to fill.
That is where NNME Southwest is meant to fit. The regional node brings together 47 members, including postsecondary institutions, microelectronics employers, workforce organizations, K-12 and STEM partners, economic development agencies and community-based organizations. Industry partners include Intel, TSMC, Amkor, Micron Technology, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Nikon Precision, Synopsys, Arm, Northrop Grumman, RTX and Teledyne Technologies. Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, says the regional node will focus on building a “scalable, industry-aligned workforce system” across the Southwest. That fits the way Arizona has approached much of its semiconductor growth, with economic development, education and industry working in closer contact as fabs, suppliers and advanced packaging projects expand. NNME Southwest gives that coordination a more formal structure.
“In Arizona, we’re focused on creating a pipeline of skilled talent that supports the needs of employers and grows our economy,” Gov. Katie Hobbs says. “The NNME Southwest Node builds on this momentum and further strengthens Arizona’s position as a global chip-making hub.”
Arizona already has many of the pieces NNME is trying to connect. TSMC is building advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity in north Phoenix. Amkor is planning an advanced packaging facility in Peoria. Intel, Microchip, NXP and others have long histories in the state. Universities and community colleges are expanding semiconductor research, cleanroom access, microelectronics programs and technician training, including the University of Arizona’s SemiSphere platform, an education content-sharing tool developed with funding from the ACA to help make semiconductor manufacturing education more consistent across schools and training programs.
In the end, Shari Liss, vice president of workforce development and initiatives at SEMI and the SEMI Foundation, says it best: “NNME Southwest represents the kind of employer-aligned, regionally driven collaboration needed to help scale workforce pathways and support the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. microelectronics industry.”
In a Nutshell
- The U.S. could face a shortfall of roughly 127,000 to 157,000 semiconductor and microelectronics workers by 2030, according to a SEMI Foundation and McKinsey & Company analysis.
- NNME’s first four regional nodes are Southwest, Pacific Intermountain, Northeast and South.
- Other regional leads include Boise State University, NY CREATES and the University of Texas at Austin.
- Together, the first four nodes activate more than 325 organizations across the U.S. working to strengthen microelectronics workforce pathways.
