AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new semiconductor training center will set up shop in Central Texas.
It’s thanks to a new partnership between The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Community College District and Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE).
In a news release, UT said the program will “serve as a one-stop shop for an industry in need of skilled labor, creating seamless and coordinated education pathways between UT and ACC to address every skill set on the semiconductor workforce continuum, ranging from equipment technician to semiconductor engineer.”
Under the partnership they will develop the following:
- A joint semiconductor training center
- Semiconductor curriculum and credentialing
The release said a recent report from the Semiconductor Industry Association and Oxford Economics found 67,000 new semiconductor jobs are at risk of going unfilled because of an “undersized workforce and lack of training programs.”
“The semiconductor industry is a critical part of our local economy, and it’s growing.”
ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart
According to the release, the first training programs through the center are expected to launch as early as January 2025.
The local workforce demand
Central Texas is no stranger to semiconductor manufacturing.
In Elgin, Yerico Manufacturing broke ground on a new location in March. The company repairs and refurbishes semiconductor equipment.
Yerico will add two large facilities one of them a 20,000 square foot building and the other a 30,000 square foot building.
The company plans to hire at least 40 new employees.
Not far from there, the massive Samsung semiconductor plant located in Taylor is set to begin operations as early as July 1, according to one local leader.