high-tech haven

FASTER THAN YOU CAN say “semiconductor,” high-tech jobs in Arizona are increasing so rapidly that the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) predicts the state will rank second in the nation in tech occupation growth in the coming decade.

Technology jobs in the Phoenix area grew by nearly 70% during the first half of 2022 compared with just a year earlier, notes Dice, an online career marketplace for tech professionals. Among the employers that have brought high-tech projects to Arizona in the past few years, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the largest foreign direct investment in the state’s history. The company plans to construct up to six fabrication facilities at its site near the Loop 303 and Interstate 17 within the city of Phoenix, reports the City of Peoria Economic Development department.

Expected to begin chip production at the site in 2024, TSMC will create thousands of new jobs. TSMC spokeswoman Nina Kao told the Phoenix Business Journal in May 2022 that all recruiting for the Arizona fabs is occurring domestically. Already, TSMC is looking to hire at least nine different types of engineers, as well as logistics and supply chain experts.

TSMC “means a lot for our community, but more importantly our country,” says Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). When TSMC selected Phoenix as the location for its new multi-billion-dollar plant, it originally planned to invest $12 billion. That commitment later expanded to $35 billion. “We’re going to shore up the U.S. supply chain for the most advanced chips that exist in the world…used by the U.S. Department of Defense for national security and in our phones, tablets and other consumer devices,” Camacho says. “These chips made in Arizona will be exported around the world. So, there’s a lot of pride in having that investment here in greater Phoenix.

Camacho describes it as “a oncein-a-generation-type opportunity for this market that will yield tremendous results economically and financially, bringing thousands of highly specialized jobs to the region, both directly with TSMC, as well as indirectly with the surrounding supplier ecosystem.”

In a report by the Phoenix Business Journal, suppliers for the TSMC plant that have expanded or plan to expand to the Valley include Taiwan Puritic Corporation, which has signed new leases in Phoenix and Glendale; Rinchem, which will locate in Surprise; CTCI, with a new office in Phoenix; Sunlit Chemical in Phoenix; and EMD Electronics in Chandler.

GPEC has worked with 15 semiconductor-related locates since May 2022, including nine TSMC suppliers.

During the early months of 2022, The State Press reported that Arizona State University spent nearly $250,000 lobbying for legislation for the CHIPS and Science Act. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022. The new law will invest more than $52 billion into U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

“The signing of the CHIPS and Science Act will certainly have a profound effect on TSMC and Intel, but it will also impact the nearly dozen other deals that we have in the GPEC pipeline and 16,000 potential new jobs that might not have considered Arizona had this bill not passed,” Camacho points out. “These are high-wage, high-growth, high-tech jobs. The investments being made at area universities like ASU will feed a pipeline of new talent directly into these high-impact jobs and fuel our growing economy.”

Technology jobs in the Phoenix area grew by nearly 70% during the first half of 2022.

More than 30,000 students are enrolled in engineering programs across Arizona, he emphasizes, “but just as importantly, there are tens of thousands of students enrolled in advanced technical training and certification. Combined with the nearly 100,000 new residents greater Phoenix welcomes every year—75% of whom have post-secondary education of some kind—we’re well-prepared to fulfill the needs of employers.”

Site Selection Magazine reports that Intel estimates its $20 billion investment in two new chip factories at the company’s Chandler campus will create more than 3,000 high-paying jobs.

Additional opportunities for high-tech employment will come from projects announced by Meta (Facebook); Virgin Galactic, building its new rocket ship assembly plant at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport; Google Fiber; KORE Power; electric vehicle makers Lucid Motors, Nikola, and ElectraMeccanica; and Gulfstream Aerospace, which is building a new aircraft service center in Mesa that’s expected to create hundreds of jobs.

Greater Phoenix “has led the nation for six years as a top job growth market,” Camacho continues. The last three years “have been the top three years for our market in terms of job creation. We’ll see investments in new technology and our innovative, entrepreneurial ecosystem for years to come with access to the most advanced, cutting-edge technology in the U.S. We need to ensure that we continue to invest in STEM and technical education, infrastructure and high-tech growth sectors to harness this momentum and carry it into the future.”

Arizona and greater Phoenix are not, however, trying to become another Silicon Valley, Camacho stresses. “We’re not trying to replicate what’s been done in Silicon Valley. We are doing things differently here and we can go beyond that. We want to be a generous, open and cooperative entrepreneurial community, where there is an approach to helping one another. Greater Phoenix is a uniquely positioned, young and vibrant region. No matter where you come from or your pedigree, if you have a great, disruptive idea, you will get attention.”

Debra Gelbart