
How Arizona is building the workforce to manufacture semiconductors in the U.S.
Semiconductor manufacturing has accelerated since the passage of the U.S. CHIPS Act two years ago. Colleges and universities have since been working to help create the trained workforce needed to fulfill the aspirations of the CHIPS Act. But, so far, those efforts are falling short in providing sufficient numbers of skilled employees for the nation’s semiconductor chip makers. Trevor Thornton, a professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Fulton Schools, says even large universities such as ASU are not graduating enough students to end the shortage of chip makers for the industry. One remedy might be recruiting new students from community colleges, Thornton says.