Monroe Community College is seeking $17.5 million to lead an effort to train thousands of workers for semiconductor industry jobs in upstate New York's three largest cities, according to a proposal submitted last week. There is.
The funding will support MCC's collaborations with universities and training centers in workforce development in Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester to support tech giant Micro's $100 billion investment in Onondaga County.
Approximately 5,000 mid-career jobs and an additional 4,000 construction jobs are envisioned in the semiconductor supply chain, with an emphasis on hiring women and ethnic and racial minority workers.
The $17.5 million award comes as a consortium representing three cities, known as the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub, aims to beat hundreds of competitors in October to be named one of 31 Tech Hubs in the nation. That's nearly a third of the $54 million.
In addition to MCC, Syracuse University will receive $15 million for innovation efforts aimed at leveraging regional academic research and development efforts. And the University at Buffalo will receive $8 million to support local manufacturers focused on semiconductor supply chain efforts.
The funding wish list was submitted by the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub to the U.S. Department of Economic Development last week.
What are the opportunities for this region to get more money?
The tech hub designation in October came with no guarantee of funding.
In the second round of the competition, the region is competing with other technology hubs, including the Binghamton location, for about $500 million to be allocated in the program's debut year. Five to 10 technology hubs will each receive up to $75 million.
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U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who co-authored the CHIP and Science Act that created the technology hub, is lobbying federal officials to support bringing it to the upstate.
“I'm very optimistic that we can accomplish that,” Schumer said.
Coupled with Micron's promise to create nearly 50,000 jobs at its chip manufacturing plant near Syracuse, the job gains alone could transform vast swathes of the Northern economy.
“This means parents and grandparents won't have to worry about their children leaving home to find well-paying jobs in the future,” Schumer added. “They could stay here in upstate New York. I remember Kodak and Carrier and a lot of other car companies. Giants. They all closed and went away and shrunk. But now we're in upstate New York. We have a great opportunity.”
Proponents argue that over the next 10 years, one in four U.S. semiconductor chips could be produced within 350 miles of Interstate 90, a move that would equate to China's dominance in the industry. It's part of a national effort to wrest manufacturing dominance.
Momentum has gained momentum in recent months as Edwards Vacuum announced plans to invest $300 million in a dry pump manufacturing plant in Western New York to supply the semiconductor industry.
And in November, TTM Technologies announced it would invest $130 million in a manufacturing plant in Onondaga County to produce circuit boards used in microelectronics.
find workers
Leaders of the efforts in the three cities say much work needs to be done to ensure there are enough workers to fill the jobs.
“I think everyone needs to do a lot on their workforce base to attract new workers and get existing workers off the sidelines. I've started to do that successfully on other projects, so I We believe we can do that,” said Benjamin Sio. He is vice president of CenterState and leads the Syracuse portion of the consortium. “And it creates talent.”
Other companies looking to build upstate have faced similar challenges in recent months.
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The CEO of Li-Cycle, which recycles metals used in electric vehicle batteries, said in November that part of the reason his company decided to pause construction at Eastman Business Park was because He said this was due to a lack of construction workers available in the area.
Sio said the upstate region has an advantage that tech hubs like Texas, Ohio and Arizona don't have: proximity to dozens of colleges and universities. In central New York alone, there are nearly 40 universities within a two- to three-hour drive.
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“The Austins and Columbuses of the world don't have the size, scale, or ability to significantly produce the talent that upstate New York does,” Sio said.
MCC will work with other community colleges to prepare mid-career talent for jobs in the semiconductor industry through training programs that are more practical than academic.
The university, which has campuses in Rochester and Brighton, is already working on similar initiatives with other schools.
“This is an opportunity to leverage those relationships,” said Joseph Stefko, CEO of ROC2025, who is leading Rochester's efforts in the consortium.
