SSTI Digest

For the United States to achieve greater security in chip manufacturing, the critical sector requires a much larger, better trained workforce. Between 2020 and 2022, annual postings for semiconductor jobs tripled from about 8,000 to almost 25,000, according to a new report, “The challenge of building a regional semiconductor workforce pipeline: What regions can learn from Austin, Texas and an agenda for cross-regional learning” from the Institute for Networked Communities (INC). As noted in the report, analysts expect that between 2023 and 2030, the industry will grow 33%, an increase of 115,000 jobs. At current degree completion rates, approximately 67,000 jobs would go unfilled. The INC report illustrates what it takes to build an industry-driven workforce system in the semiconductor industry based on the experience of Austin, Texas. The co-authors Francie Genz, Ryan Donahue, and Erin Sparks delve into what other regions can learn from Austin and why a cross-regional learning and action network is needed. “The stakes for getting regional workforce strategy right in the semiconductor space couldn’t be higher,” said Francie Genz, CEO of INC, in an email. “…

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced the third major R&D facility as part of its CHIPS for America program. This new facility will be located at the Arizona State University (ASU) Research Park in Tempe, Arizona. It will host the world’s first 300mm front-end semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging research center, allowing researchers and industry leaders to develop cutting-edge materials, devices, and packaging solutions. A press release from Arizona State University notes that the university’s semiconductor research and workforce development components of its total $992 million research portfolio in 2024 will play “a pivotal role in the success of the new facility. The university’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, the largest engineering school in the nation with more than 33,000 students and 600 faculty members, will support the facility through Core Research Facilities and state-of-the-art labs.” The university also will provide immediate access for Natcast, the operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center, to ASU’s cutting-edge resources, including the MacroTechnology Works—a 250,000-…

After a busy election season that saw gubernatorial elections in 36 states, newly elected and re-elected governors delivered their annual State of the State addresses, kicking off new programs and reviewing the conditions of their states. SSTI reviews the speeches every year and covers news of new developments and initiatives the governors have highlighted as they relate to the innovation economy. New programs are laid out here in the governors own words as excerpts from their State of the State or budget addresses. Not all governors delivered a State of the State, and some that did may not have revealed new innovation-related initiatives and so are not included in our coverage. Common initiatives among the governors that touched on innovation included an emphasis on workforce, education and broadband; water issues for Western governors; and, clean energy. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey delivered her 2023 State of the State on March 7 and called on legislators to “look ahead and crate an economic development strategy for the 2030s.” “… I am calling on you to get behind our playbook for economic success, what I am calling The Game Plan.” “We will…

Thirty-six states held gubernatorial contests in Tuesday’s (Nov. 8) mid-term elections. By the end of the last week, winners in 32 states had been chosen. As of today, contests in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon have been called; while votes continued to be tallied in Alaska, which held its first ranked choice general election. Gov. Mike Dunleavy maintains a substantial lead and appears he will be re-elected. As such, Dunleavy will be the first governor to be elected to back-to-back terms in the state since former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles won reelection in 1998. Results from gubernatorial elections and ballot measures that were not available at last week’s writing are detailed below. With the elections finalized in Arizona and Oregon, the new year will see 12 states headed by a female governor; Oregon’s Gov.-elect Tina Kotek will join Gov.-elect Maura Healey in Massachusetts as one of the first openly lesbian governors. Democrats were able to flip Arizona, Maryland and Massachusetts, while the GOP flipped Nevada. Republicans will maintain a slight advantage with 26 states having a GOP governor in January. (Before the mid-term election, Republicans held 28 states…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced nine additional states whose SSBCI plans have been approved: Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Vermont. This is in addition to the five states approved earlier this year: Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan and West Virginia. The state plans for the awards will support underserved businesses, innovation programs, investing for startups and more, detailed below. Arizona has been approved for $111 million across three different state programs. Two venture capital programs, Arizona Venture Co-Invest and Arizona Multi-Fund Venture, will split $87 million of the total approved funds. The rest of the allocated funds will go towards the Arizona Loan Guarantee Program. The three programs will all aim to support underserved businesses by creating greater access to capital.  Connecticut has been approved for $119 million, which will be allocated to CT Innovations Equity Fund, a venture capital program, and CT Works Fund, a loan participation program. The state will also be launching two new funds from Connecticut Innovations, The Connecticut Future Fund and…

The last of the governors have delivered their State of the State addresses. With 36 gubernatorial elections this fall, many governors appeared to be more conservative in their addresses this year, speaking more about past accomplishments rather than rolling out new programs. This week features comments from California, Louisiana, Nevada and Ohio’s governors as their addresses related to the innovation economy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (March 8) Gov. Gavin Newsom talked about transformation in the state’s public education system, including free community college. “Infrastructure, research and development, investing in our conveyor belt for talent, the finest system of higher education anywhere in the world: our CSUs, UCs and community colleges. And ensuring society provides a hand up when people need help, maintaining, maintaining our pro-immigrant policies and welcoming refugees from around the world.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (March 14) Noting that the state has “hundreds of millions in surplus, even more in current year excess, and billions in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment…

Semiconductor leaders and stakeholders have joined together to launch a year-long, industry-led effort to boost U.S. semiconductor competitiveness. The National Semiconductor Economic Roadmap (NSER) will focus on the workforce, supply chain and infrastructure to support industry R&D, design, manufacturing and end applications. Arizona Commerce Authority is facilitating the effort; the group’s founding industry partners have operations in more than a dozen states and territories. The NSER partners will convene over the coming months to identify precompetitive technical challenges and opportunities, infrastructure and supply chain issues, workforce skill requirements and more. Participating entities will include private sector companies, higher education institutions, industry associations and states. Arizona has received two multi-billion dollar semiconductor investments since May 2020 that combined are expected to create about 5,000 jobs in the state. Entities interested in joining NSER can find more information at www.azcommerce.com/NSER.

Across the country, the governors have begun delivering their State of the State addresses, an annual ritual where they have the opportunity to review where the state’s economy stands and preview their plans for the coming year. This year’s remarks reflect the dire conditions most states are experiencing with the pandemic, economic fallout, racial strife and national political upheaval. Despite the heavy focus on states’ efforts to respond to the pandemic, governors have struck a hopeful note and are focusing on recovery. Some governors have noted that the fallout in their state was not as severe as they originally anticipated and there are resources for new initiatives. Some, like Arizona and Virginia are considering gaming revenue to boost their budgets, while legalization of marijuana is being pursued in Connecticut, Kentucky (medical marijuana) and Virginia. Each year, SSTI reviews each of the governors’ addresses for news about initiatives affecting the innovation economy in our Tech Talkin’ Govs series, and this week we bring you the first round of those addresses looking at Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New…

Faced with the sudden, unprecedented fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Ned Lamont last month launched a new resource to provide workers and businesses in Connecticut with career tools, including partnering with Indeed and workforce training providers. Last week, the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill appropriating $55 million for short-term training and support of programs for training of employees and others displaced due to the health crisis. Minnesota is partnering with Coursera to offer free courses to its workers that have lost jobs because of the pandemic. And noting the reality that many of the jobs previously held in the service industry will not recover, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation reported that “the first priority for recovery is to reskill and upskill these workers, and get them back to work as soon as possible, at family-sustaining wages that offer them a strong future.” These efforts are just a few of the initiatives underway across the country to address the workforce crisis. While there has been some recovery in the workforce, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that the unemployment rate declined by 2.2…

Proving that innovation is appealing to states regardless of their size or political leanings, new initiatives in both Democratic and Republican states, as well as large states like California and small states like Vermont, are driving innovation agendas into action in areas ranging from clean energy and aid for students and colleges, to new venture capital investments and bond financing to support business collaborations with higher education to help translate cutting-edge research into products and companies. It is important to note that these new initiatives are in addition to important work that is already occurring in many states. SSTI continues to bring you news of these actions as governors, legislatures, and economic development organizations capitalize on proven programs to build out their innovation economies, with several examples provided here. In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey’s proposed budget includes $10 million in one-time General Fund support that would provide the state match portion for Arizona’s public universities to pursue major competitive national research grants. It is part of a larger $165 million plan put forward by the Arizona Board of Regents…

Governors are continuing to roll out their state of the state addresses and this week’s SSTI review highlights differences in the states economies: while Arizona is enjoying population growth Vermont is struggling to attract workers. More states are focusing proposals on climate change and clean energy initiatives, with New York proposing a $3 billion bond initiative to build resiliency, and Colorado, New Jersey and Vermont proposing clean energy and climate initiatives as well.  Rural broadband, higher education and workforce initiatives also are throughout the state addresses. SSTI presents excerpts of the governors’ addresses as they relate to the innovation economy below. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey delivered his sixth state of the state address on Jan. 13, and heralded the in-migration the state is experiencing, noting that Arizona is attracting 120,000 new residents a year and touted its diverse economy and growth: “We’re also going to target more resources toward our trade programs with an eye toward Achieve60AZ. At our community colleges: a full restoration of STEM and workforce development funding. In our public schools: more dollars to CTE…

Universities frequently play an integral role in providing activities, research, and products that positively affect or support local, regional, state and national economic development or strategic goals.  In higher-education’s efforts to align its participation in innovation and entrepreneurship systems, universities’ incubators, accelerators and fund programs are essential in assisting their faculty, staff, or students in the services and support needed to create startups, bring products to market, or provide critically needed funding. Following on our recent review of research universities and their partnerships with industry, as well as our ongoing review of state activities in 2019 (see our stories on higher education and commercialization programs, free tuition offerings, climate change, clean energy, and broadband), this week we report on new university incubators, accelerators and funds launched in 2019. The following programs represent some of those efforts. Alabama In order to promote entrepreneurship both on its campus and throughout the region, the University of Alabama (UA) is increasing its alignment with local resources to…