WARREN — The potential for spinoff economic opportunities across northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley from chipmaker Intel’s $20 billion investment into semiconductor manufacturing near Columbus is great, but it’s best to be prepared, development officials and educators say.

“There are a lot of unknowns, but what we do know is we’re going to need a skilled workforce. We know what the skills of the semiconductor industry are … what is going to be important is that we are ready,” said Jennifer Oddo, executive director of Youngstown State University’s Division of Workforce Education and Innovation. “That we have the programs, we have the initiatives in place to service, whether it’s tech-level work or students going into an engineering level role.”

The investment — Ohio’s largest-ever economic development project — has local officials taking the necessary steps to be in position to try to take advantage of the momentum, from workforce development with YSU and other higher education institutions to supply chains.

Intel broke ground in September on the two new leading-edge chip factories, also known as fabs, in Licking County. Production could begin as soon as 2025.

DATA AND DEVELOPMENT

Part of what’s happening in the region is the Northeast Ohio Intel Supply Chain Task Force, a group of economic development officials from the Valley, Cleveland and Akron / Canton regions and members of the business and higher-education communities to learn more about Intel, semiconductor manufacturing and related businesses that support the chip-making industry.

It’s about getting intel on Intel.

The group has been meeting for months, starting with fact-finding to understand more about what opportunities exist, who to target for attraction, what the expectations of Intel are for a company in the supply chain, how the region can make itself attractive to those second-tier suppliers, etc.

“We’ve learned enough to be effective at attracting other chip manufacturers and their suppliers, and I think some of those projects are already in the works,” Guy Coviello, president / CEO of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber, said.

That “is an exciting opportunity” because it’s estimated the chip-making industry will grow tremendously, Coviello said.

“By these northeast Ohio economic development organizations coming together, it hopefully gives us an advantage,” he said.

In addition to the chamber, the working group is Team NEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Greater Akron Chamber and Stark Economic Development Board. There also are Charles T. George, CEO of Hapco Inc., Strangpresse and Triptech; Kimberly Gibson, ecosystem director, America Makes; and Frank Li, director, Rayen School of Engineering, Youngstown State University.

Some of the information they’ve collected is on-site selection — that some suppliers need to be located on Intel’s campus, others need to be within an hour and still others can be farther away, including those tier-two suppliers that supply the suppliers.

They’ve also learned about site selection that these chip manufacturing plants need access to large amounts of water and electricity and cannot be near highways or railroads.

Working group member and Canfield businessman George owns and operates multiple companies, and he said he thinks Intel’s plan presents a generational-type opportunity that includes, but also exceeds, the opportunities Intel presents.

There are also chances to gain some traction with tier-two suppliers and with companies that use the chips in their own applications, such as autos.

“When a company like Intel picks Ohio, other people start to pay attention to the state, so maybe our region’s biggest opportunity is in companies beyond Intel that said maybe we should look at Ohio, maybe Ohio is a good place to build a factory or put a distribution center in, or put a research and development center in — any of those things.”

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Also, it’s a different type of workforce — a new high-tech type of workforce that need specific skills training and education to work in the industry.

To that end, three regional higher education institutions are part of an effort to develop semiconductor-focused education and workforce programs.

YSU, Kent State University and Eastern Gateway Community College are part of collaborative efforts funded with $17.7 million by Intel to develop the programs. The investment is the initial phase of the chipmaker’s $50 million pledge to the state’s colleges and universities for educational programming.

YSU will partner with 10 colleges and universities in northeast Ohio to provide training programs in automation, robotics, microelectronics and semiconductor processing.

Kent State will lead a network of 13 other colleges and universities to prepare the workforce to make small electronic devices. KSU’s seven branches are part of the effort, including Kent State University at Trumbull in Champion.

EGCC is among 16 community colleges and technical schools in Ohio that are part of the Artificial Intelligence Incubator Network. EGCC has been working with the other schools in the group and Intel and Dell Technologies to provide area and regional students training and job opportunities.

The funding is intended to help bridge semiconductor manufacturing workforce shortages and technical challenges to develop new capabilities in making chips.

“There was initial concern (that) we don’t want to have brain drain, we don’t want to be training our students to go to Columbus, but we know the ecosystem is going to spread throughout Ohio, so we think there is going to be tremendous opportunity,” Oddo said. “So any students, anybody here in the region who wants to participate in that industry, YSU is really getting those students ready through our STEM program, through the work of our microelectronics programs.”

There also could be a bridge to the recently announced intent of YSU and Foxconn to develop and launch a national electric-vehicle workforce training and innovation center.

“What YSU is doing with Foxconn is critically important for the Valley’s economic success and forward thinking on YSU’s part. We can create lots of jobs in this emerging technology, but only if the community produces the human capital necessary to fill the jobs,” Coviello said.

The EV industry provides additional opportunities in the supply chain and value chain. The Inflation Reduction Act has provisions to advance opportunities in energy manufacturing and vehicle manufacturing, he said.

“For example, we should see increased opportunities around solar panel production and the life cycle of EV batteries. Recycled materials from old batteries can become metal for EVs. Components from old batteries can be used for new batteries. It makes sense for these battery recycling / manufacturing facilities be near EV and EV battery manufacturers,” Coviello said.

“Battery makers need to reduce their dependence on China. Environmental policies make new mines in the U.S. nearly impossible. So the focus and investments are on EV battery recycling. As Ohio grows in EV manufacturing, we become more and more valuable for chip manufacturers since a single vehicle could have thousands of chips. EVs have twice as many chips as ICE vehicles,” Coviello added.

“Think about how many chips are in a car now,” Oddo said.