PRIMER: Investing In Arizona Workers
PHOENIX, AZ
January 26, 2022
Governor Doug Ducey outlined an ambitious 2022 policy agenda earlier this month, including an important initiative to significantly expand Arizona’s talented workforce.
The Governor proposes “to establish six advanced manufacturing training centers facilitated by community colleges across the state.”
“Let’s invest in the worker, arming them with the skills they need for our growing semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries,” the governor stated. “Whether your top issue is workforce, or rural jobs – this is the way to do it: Our budget makes historic investments into community colleges to empower our people with a quality education and the skills of the future.”
On Wednesday, Governor Ducey and the ACA met with 10 community college chancellors and presidents across the state for a roundtable to discuss the impact of the six new workforce accelerators (advanced manufacturing training centers) in their communities, emphasizing the Governor’s dedication to workforce development.
The workforce accelerators would be administered by the ACA and modeled after Drive48, a state-of-the-art facility that is training workers for jobs in electric vehicle manufacturing.
Drive48 has already impacted the community in its first year of operation – 1,700 Lucid Motors employees have been trained using Drive48’s state-of-the-art tools. Lucid Motors’ Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMP-1) in Casa Grande celebrated the start of production of the Lucid Air last year. AMP-1 will create 6,000 jobs by 2029.
The industry-led training centers will feature customized, hands-on curriculum for growing sectors including semiconductor, battery, automotive assembly and more. Like Drive48, the curriculum will be designed in close collaboration with private sector partners to ensure skills training aligns with high-wage employment opportunities.
The Fiscal Year 2023 Executive Budget also proposes a significant investment in business development initiatives, including a manufacturing tax incentive package. The initiative demonstrates the Governor’s commitment to a diversified economy through targeted investments.
Arizona’s economic development success in part is attributed to strong relationships between community colleges, universities, industry leaders and city partners. With more companies choosing Arizona, creating quality jobs and investing in our state, workforce development is critical to maintaining Arizona’s economic momentum.
Background on Arizona’s talented workforce
Arizona’s skilled workforce has helped drive unprecedented manufacturing growth. Over the last 10 years, CNBC ranked Arizona’s workforce in the top-10 nine times and in the top-5 seven times. Arizona also experienced the second-fastest manufacturing employment growth over the latter half of the last decade (EMSI).
In addition, labor market analyst EMSI ranked Maricopa County no. 1 on its 2021 Talent Attraction Scorecard, the second year in a row and the fourth time in the last six years. From 2010 to 2019, Arizona had the fourth-highest net in-migration of any state (Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity/BLS). The Phoenix metro area added nearly 200,000 working age residents between 2016 and 2020, the highest in the country during that time (EMSI).
Read more about the Governor’s 2022 agenda HERE.
Media Contact
Alyssa Tufts, Arizona Commerce Authority, [email protected]
About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create - attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter at @azcommerce.