Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
CRANE — A pilot program to prepare high school students for jobs in the growing microelectronics technology sector is being developed through a partnership with Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, Purdue University and four southern Indiana high schools.
Washington, Washington Catholic, Loogootee and Holy Trinity high schools were chosen for the program called SCALE (Scalable Asymmetric Life-cycle Engagement).
The goal is to increase interest and knowledge about the field of microelectronics.
SCALE has been in place for a few years at the college level. Because of the projected shortage of tech workers, officials are looking to reach high school, junior high and eventually elementary students with more microelectronics education.
Over the next five years, the US economy will need at least 50,000 semiconductor engineers to meet the global demand for semiconductors, according to Purdue University.
The impetus for the program comes from the US Department of Defense.
In 2019, the DoD, through NSWC-Crane, funded Purdue University $30 million to lead a Public-Private-Academic Partnership to develop a five- year microelectronics pilot workforce development program that will become the DoD national standard. That program is SCALE.
The SCALE K-12 Pilot is budgeted for three years at a total of $6,000,000 – $3M from federal OUSD (R&E) Trusted & Assured ME program managed by NSWC Crane (secured) and $3M from the state of Indiana.
Dr. Kara Perry, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Trusted and Assured Microelectronics Workforce Development Co-Lead and program manager for SCALE, said the program will get started before school lets out for summer.
In a story reported by the Washington Times Herald, Perry said starting in Indiana was logical because of the presence of Crane and Purdue’s SCALE program resources. The schools were chosen because of their proximity to Crane, which is the largest microelectronics employer in the state.
Dr. Matt Kay, trusted and assured microelectronics program manager, which falls under the OUSD Office of the Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Critical Technologies, said the program is designed to fill a growing gap in the ability to work in technology sectors in the defense department.
“Right now, there is just a general lack of people to take on microelectronics work. What we are trying to do is to get them to engage in trade pathways so students can see the tremendous opportunities that exist in this industry and pursue a job in this field,” Kay said. “We are trying to message back to the high schools in southern Indiana that students don’t need to go to the east or west coast to work with cutting edge technology. There is an opportunity here in southern Indiana to work at the most complicated, complex technologies and drive national security and that economic imperative, the innovation ecosystem that keeps America out front.
Dr. Matt Kay, trusted and assured microelectronics program manager
“The intent is to develop a microelectronics workforce pipeline for the U.S. defense industrial base,” said Kay. “We need a workforce that is scalable. We have major deficits across the department and the industrial base as it relates to the engineering availability in our workforce. This is something the Department of Commerce has reported on. They have reported there are 90,000 jobs that are not filled.”
In addition to accelerating the microelectronics workforce pipeline, the pilot program has the potential to make Indiana the first state to implement a K-12 pilot.