Ivy Tech certificate program aims to boost microelectronics skills

As a growing number of semiconductor companies make plans to establish operations in Indiana, an Ivy Tech Community College certificate could be key to ensuring that enough technicians are ready to work in the new sector.

The industry needs an injection of engineers with college degrees as well as technicians with either an associate degree or on-the-job training. The country has a deficit of both and will need at least 25,000 engineers and 25,000 technicians by 2030, according to a July 2023 industry estimate cited by the White House.

Turning out more technicians is the focus of Ivy Tech’s young semiconductor certificate program. It’s part of a workforce “ecosystem” of higher education institutions ramping up programs to meet the state’s future needs.

“We have an outsized role in making sure that Indiana has the education and training that’s needed by these emerging industries,” said Molly Dodge, senior vice president for workforce and careers at Ivy Tech.

The three Ivy Tech campuses introducing the certificate program are Bloomington, Lafayette and Fort Wayne—chosen because they already have strong electrical engineering programs. The program debuted in Bloomington this fall with six students; Ivy Tech says those students could be ready for companies to hire as early as May.

The Fort Wayne campus is scheduled to launch its program next summer. Lafayette is to open next fall.

“We are a quick, inexpensive, low-barrier option to get a job in the field,” said Michael Waterford, employer liaison at the Bloomington campus. Graduates of the program are “going to get swooped up with all the jobs becoming available for technicians.”

Ivy Tech is positioned to quickly scale up programs to have a measurable impact, Dodge said. And it can replicate a program as needed to meet companies’ needs, she said.

That’s important in Indiana, where the chips industry is expected to become increasingly important. The federal government has designated the state as a microelectronics hub and promised hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster domestic microelectronics manufacturing.

In addition, South Korea-based semiconductor chipmaker SK Hynix Inc.’s planned West Lafayette facility is expected to draw related supply chain companies to the area. The state is aiming for similar investments around the state, including at the LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon.

Since 2022, Indiana has attracted at least eight semiconductor-related companies, including NHanced Semiconductors and Everspin Technologies at WestGate@Crane Technology Park in southern Indiana.

Tony Denhart, executive vice president of talent and workforce at the Indiana Economic Development Corp., told IBJ in a statement Ivy Tech has been “instrumental in helping us meet the needs of companies and is able to cater its approach based on each project’s specific needs.”

He said the college’s statewide footprint and existing partnerships with K-12 schools and other Indiana higher education institutions mean it can produce students ready to join the workforce in just a couple of years.

In the room

The discussion about training workers doesn’t start after a jobs announcement. Ivy Tech leaders have been in the room when the IEDC negotiates with companies, Dodge said. That close relationship allows the school to understand emerging workforce needs and how it can quickly and adequately address them.

“We want to perform well, not only to ensure that our students get great jobs, but [also] that the state of Indiana is successful in onboarding these new industries,” Dodge said.

That means Ivy Tech officials often visit fabrication facilities and other college programs for ideas to bring home, he said. Dodge recently traveled to South Korea to visit SK Hynix’s facilities.

Another part of Ivy Tech’s planning is to determine the types of machines and equipment to purchase, said Bryce Eaton, dean of the Lafayette campus’s manufacturing and engineering school.

The school conducts a heavy dose of research to ensure the program has exactly what it needs to teach students, he said. That includes making equipment lists for incoming businesses and working with the school’s maintenance programs to make sure they can meet demand for servicing the equipment, he said.

Ivy Tech is building clean rooms—controlled environments that filter pollutants like dust, microbes and aerosol particles from the air—at its Bloomington, Fort Wayne and Lafayette campuses. The rooms will be used to provide hands-on training, which is a significant part of preparing students for work in the microelectronics industry.

“We’re spending a lot of time right now just in fact-finding mode,” Eaton said. “We want to make sure that we are doing everything that is going to serve the needs of our local community as well as these companies that come into Lafayette, West Lafayette and our nine-county service area.”

Customizing the curriculum

Dodge said the college will work with some companies, including SK Hynix, to customize about 20% of its microelectronics curriculum to meet workforce needs. The other 80% of the curriculum, she said, is focused on the skills and competencies needed for the industry at large.

“We call that co-producing talent at Ivy Tech,” she said. “That’s really what we’re looking for in any sector and with all employers.”

Once the program is running, Waterford’s job will be to connect with companies about hiring graduates, sending existing workers to the campuses for training and determining their training needs. And those needs will be different by company, he said.

For example, Chicago-based NHanced Semiconductors Inc., which has sites in Odon, does advanced packaging, which combines chips and other microelectronics parts so they can be used in devices.

SK Hynix will have an advanced packaging facility in West Lafayette but also plans to do semiconductor research and development with Purdue University.

“Packaging is different than chip building, and so we are able to cater to what [companies] need,” Waterford said. “It’s very much more individualized service.”

The microelectronics industry could offer an avenue to raise wages across the state—a persistent issue state leaders have tried to address, especially for people considered underemployed. Process and maintenance technicians typically make about $50,000 a year.

“Short-term, certificate-based education gets you the job,” Waterford said. “You’ve got food on your table. Your bills are paid.”

Building block

A key benefit of the microelectronics certificate is that it can stack on previous educational experiences and—more important—act as a stepping stone to a college degree. That includes building up to an Ivy Tech associate degree or a bachelor’s at Purdue.

Purdue has partnered with Ivy Tech, particularly at the Lafayette campus, to host joint programs, camps and outreach efforts in addition to sharing curriculum.

“We are very, very much focused on the equipment side, on the hands-on side, and that’s our role. Purdue’s role is more that theory-based design aspect,” Eaton said. “So we can come together and really wrap our arms around the entire process.”

The campuses are doing outreach to make sure people in the communities know they have a path to high-paying jobs, Eaton said. That includes free summer camps, traveling training opportunities and industry pathways in school systems.

Ivy Tech intercepts students with all types of educational backgrounds, such as students graduating from high school, college graduates needing to upskill and those working without college degrees. Ivy Tech’s short-term certificates target all three of those demographics.

Another group the school is targeting is veterans who are drawn to microelectronics and its impact on national security, said David Ely, Lafayette vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Ely said Lafayette’s expected debut class of about 14 next year won’t overload the campus’s lab space and will give students plenty of time working with equipment.

Waterford, the Bloomington campus employer liaison, said he expects more students in that campus’s program after Ivy Tech has a full year to advertise and meet with prospective participants.

Program leaders predict the certificate will become a strong pipeline for local industry.

“The demand is seemingly there compared to other programs,” Waterford said. “I get cold calls quite a bit from people. … Other programs don’t have that.”•