Unique nonprofit collaboration is bringing high-tech jobs back to Ohio

It’s certainly no secret that Ohio has been working diligently to bring advanced manufacturing jobs back to Ohio in both the microelectronic and aerospace industries. While headline-grabbing wins like the new Intel Manufacturing facility in Central Ohio come immediately to most folk’s minds when it comes to economic development, there are two interrelated nonprofits, Parallax Advanced Research in Dayton and the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland, that are contributing to building our high-tech workforce, both in the Greater Cincinnati area as well as across our entire state.

It is definitely needed.

By further developing its skilled workforce, Ohio can get out in front of the microelectronics and aerospace industries to fill a need that is truly national, if not global, in its scope.

With its organizational history, close proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Base and recent affiliation with the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Northern Ohio, Parallax Advanced Research not only has its finger on the pulse of the aerospace and aviation industries in Ohio, but it is also considered a leading organization in what some economic development people are calling “Aerospace Alley” in southwest Ohio. And Parallax’s reach is both statewide and national, in its scope and impact—especially when it comes to workforce and supply chain development.

“A lot of companies in aerospace are finding that it is necessary to rethink where they are located,” says Kimberly Holizna, director of Global Development and Programs at Parallax Advanced Research, supporting the Ohio Aerospace Institute. “They know they need to be closer to their suppliers. A lot of them got stuck during COVID and now want to make their supply chains more resilient. In Ohio, we have a very resilient aerospace supply chain.”

Ohio often gets overlooked when it comes to its aviation and aerospace industries, partly because the state doesn’t have a major air framer in the state. But companies do assemble engines here, and Ohio is the No. 1 supplier to Airbus and Boeing, boasting more than 600 aerospace giants like GE Aviation, Parker Hannifin, United Technologies and others. Ohio also has one of the largest innovation ecosystems in the industry, with its 200-plus universities and college campuses leading the way in training engineers and contributing to vital aerospace research.

“We work with our colleges, universities and even our two-year technical colleges all the time,” says Holizna. “Not only in helping them understand what the industry needs but also to help them bring together programs that manufacturers need.”

While affiliated with aerospace and aviation, Parallax is also involved in the development of the microelectronics and semiconductor industries in Ohio.

“While I am not an expert when it comes to microelectronics, what I can say is that most of the projects that we work on from a technology aspect use some form of microelectronics,” says Maj. Gen. Mark Bartman, vice president for Advanced Development at Parallax. “Everything today has microelectronics that are built into it. Whether it’s your phone, your watch or maybe even your refrigerator or other items around your house, there is most likely some kind of chip or software used in its operation.”

Mary Margaret Evans, vice president for Strategic Workforce Development at Parallax, offered some industry sources and statistics that demonstrate the growing importance of semiconductor and chip manufacturing.

In its July 2023 report Chipping Away: Assessing and Addressing the Labor Market Gap Facing the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) estimated that the U.S. semiconductor industry employed 345,000 workers at the start of 2023.

“Approximately two-thirds (68% or 236,000) of this direct labor workforce are engaged in semiconductor manufacturing, either fabricating semiconductor chips or manufacturing the specialized machinery used in semiconductor fabrication,” says Evans. “The remaining 32% of the workforce (109,000) are design workers, either designing semiconductors or developing the specialized software tools used in design.”

The SIA projects the semiconductor industry’s workforce will grow by nearly 115,000 jobs by 2030, from approximately 345,000 jobs today to approximately 460,000 jobs by the end of the decade, representing 33% growth, Evans adds.

“Of these new jobs, SIA estimates roughly 67,000—or 58% of projected new jobs (and 80% of projected new technical jobs)—risk going unfilled at current degree completion rates,” says Evans. “Of the unfilled jobs, 39% will be technicians, most of whom will have certificates or two-year degrees; 35% will be engineers with four-year degrees or computer scientists; and 26% will be engineers at the master’s or PhD level.”

Parallax is actively working to help fill that need, notes Evans.

“As a thought leader in microelectronics workforce development, Parallax, under its support contract for the Department of Defense Trusted and Assured Microelectronics program, drafted the recently approved DoD Microelectronics Workforce Development Strategy,” she says. “This first-of-a-kind policy document will coordinate workforce development efforts across all DoD programs, including the Microelectronics Commons or ME Commons. This provides an important resource in Ohio that can provide insight and advice.”

This past May, Parallax also hosted the 2023 Microelectronics Workforce Strategy Forum in Columbus, sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Sensors Directorate, that gathered representatives from academia, industry and the government with a special focus on Ohio to promote policies and activities that increase the throughput and quality of students from high school through college for careers in microelectronics and related disciplines.

Parallax is also actively developing Air Force funded efforts, says Evans. The first is a dynamic and interactive microelectronics portal for Ohio that will aggregate educational and experiential learning opportunities and a course of study and security clearance process enabler called Curriculum to a Leading Career (C2LC).

The microelectronics portal—Connect ME—will showcase aggregated microelectronics opportunities for students and workers to find avenues for learning, professional/workforce development and networking as well as facilitate employer discovery of and expedited access to technical ME talent and expertise at academic institutions.

A first-of-its-kind program, the C2LC course of study will begin as a pilot in the spring of 2024 and provide students with an introduction to the federal government, its essential framework, structures, policies, processes and relationships and accelerate the security clearance process for successful employment in the government.

Lastly, Parallax drafted the workforce development portion of the Ohio’s ME Commons proposal known as the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium, or MMEC, that was awarded one of eight ME Commons Hubs across the U.S.

“We look forward to being an active part of the MMEC’s workforce development efforts going forward,” adds Evans.

To date, Parallax has connected with over 23 colleges and universities and 50 industry partners with microelectronics expertise in Ohio and Indiana. A central part of Parallax’s success is its ability to facilitate technology development by colleges and universities across the U.S.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is funding Purdue University and Parallax Advanced Research to develop a partnership with the Tougaloo College Research and Development Foundation, a broad-based coalition that supports Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in their efforts to pursue federal and private sector research and contract opportunities, to expand HBCU radiation-hardened education on Purdue’s campuses using on-line courses and in-person labs with a focus on undergraduate students.