PORTLAND, Oregon — Demand for semiconductors continues to break yearly records. They’re in modern cars, computers, gaming consoles and weapons. They’re nearly as essential as a cup of coffee in the morning.
The demand for workers at chip manufacturers is increasing too, but can communities prepare future employees for a manufacturer like Intel?
You don’t need a master’s degree in computer engineering.
Near the Intel plant in Hillsboro, Oregon, there’s a 10-day program allowing students a fast way to get into the semiconductor industry.
Intel’s Quick Start program was developed at the chip manufacturer’s Arizona site.
Arizona students received a $270 tuition stipend for the program. Students at Oregon’s Portland Community College (PCC) get $500.
PCC hosts classes in partnership with Work Systems, the City of Hillsboro, Washington County and Worksource Oregon Portland Metro.
PCC launched its Quick Start program in 2022.
The initiative receives funding from Future Ready Oregon, that state’s state workforce and education grant program.
Future Ready Oregon has invested $200 million in education and training that is “advancing a more equitable workforce system and increasing opportunities for diverse workers,” according to a Future Ready Oregon document.
Quick Start’s high graduation rate
The largest section of Future Ready Oregon is its workforce-ready grants, which support development in manufacturing and technology, among other slices of the Pacific Northwest state’s economy, according to the same document.
Future Read Oregon grants provide training and education opportunities for “underserved and underrepresented Oregonians, increasing access to degrees, certificates and credentials needed to obtain employment in high-wage, high-demand occupations and careers, according to the earlier document.
PCC staff partner with 25 community organizations to recruit program participants and advance entry-level career opportunities for diverse workers, including women and people of color.
But building awareness about Quick Start and manufacturing as a whole can be a challenge.
“(Some) people don’t see manufacturing as a career path,” Program Dean Pam Hester said. “Most don’t really know what it is.”
According to PCC’s website, Quick Start has already graduated 391 students, 77% of whom are women and people of color.
The webpage also states that “entry-level semiconductor technicians can expect to earn between $18-24 per hour, often with comprehensive benefits. But perhaps one of the most attractive aspects is the schedule. Unlike most industries, semiconductor employees work condensed shifts — three or four days on, then several off — balancing work and life.”
PCC’s Willow Creek director DaNene Dwyer said the primary age for Quick Start students is between 25 and 45 years old.
Dwyer said the college previously had a waitlist for Quick Start, though it ebbs and flows throughout the academic years.
How to get into the Quick Start program
Those interested in the program must complete a pre-assessment form, answering 12 of 15 questions correctly to move forward with the application.
The program also emphasizes the importance of “soft skills.”
“Do they have the ability to problem-solve?” Dwyer said. “There’s homework every single night (…) they do a lot of work on what it means to be part of a team.”
PCC also has a screening process. Dwyer described the online test, which has 10 questions incorporating model-based problem solving, as “really intensive.”
‘Finding instructors is a challenge’
Representatives said finding staff to teach the Quick Start program is challenging.
“We tend to get either folks who are retired or really just have a strong passion to teach,” Hester said.
Those who graduate are guaranteed an interview with Intel — over half secured employment in the semiconductor field, according to Future Ready Oregon.
Seventy-two percent of students who go through the program are hired within the semiconductor industry.
If they choose to continue their education at PCC, students can receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Hester said PCC also offers some two-year degrees in the semiconductor field, like microelectronics.
“Microelectronics is a curriculum that’s geared toward Intel,” Hester said.
“(We have) such a close connection with Intel that we are truly trying to meet the needs of their workforce, as well as the broader workforce,” she added. “Many of our students will intern with Intel as they work through the program (…) 90 to 95% will work with Intel.”
Does Ohio have a Quick Start program?
Intel plans to invest $50 million over the next decade with Ohio universities, community colleges and other higher education institutions, according to its website.
Intel awarded the first $17.7 million of $50 million allotment to 80 higher education institutions in Ohio.
“Intel is committed to building a strong semiconductor workforce pipeline, and in Ohio, we are leveraging the Semiconductor Education and Research Program to ensure we have the talent needed when the time comes to hire locally,” Intel communication manager Elly Akopyan said via email.
Though the program isn’t called Quick Start on Intel’s Ohio workforce fact sheet, there is a “semiconductor technician certification program.”
It’s designed to “build the local talent pipeline by launching the industry’s first stackable, shareable and transferable one-year semiconductor technician certification program.
The program was launched in the 2023-24 academic year, with Central Ohio Technical College being one of the participating schools.
John Berry, president of Central Ohio Technical College, told Source Media Properties in August that the college has created a one-year certificate and two-year associate’s degree for students interested in engineering technician positions for Intel.
COTC is based in Newark with satellite campuses in Mount Vernon, Coshocton and Pataskala.
Students at any campus have the option to take in-person or online classes, but have to travel to Newark to use equipment required for some of the classes.
“COTC is in a unique position being the closest two-year college to the Intel fabrication center,” Berry said. “We want to bring those courses to all of our campus locations so you can access this pathway in your backyard as well.”
North Central State College in Mansfield has also been involved in the Ohio Semiconductor Collaboration Network and the Midwest Semiconductor Network since both groups launched in 2022.
In preparation for Intel, NCSC is working to host semiconductor maintenance courses within its manufacturing engineering program later this year.
“We’ll follow the state model and we will have an introduction to manufacturing course,” said Dan Wagner, the NCSC dean of engineering, technology and criminal justice. “We have a Semiconductor 101 course and a Vacuum Technology course.
“We certainly have the capacity to help, and these 22 other colleges in the network do, too. But, with the talent Intel will need statewide, we all expect to be at full capacity.”