Texas Gov. Greg Abbott toured the TEL Texas Technical Training and Research & Development Center in Austin and discussed semiconductor workforce training with students and business leaders.
Texas is home to more than 51,000 semiconductor industry workers, a 21 percent increase over the last five years, according to the governor's office. The Austin center is expected to train an estimated 2,200 people annually using virtual and augmented reality technology to prepare technicians for next-generation tools.
"Texas ranks number one in the United States for semiconductors, and we rank number one in the U.S. for workforce training," Abbott said. "We need to be leading the way, not just in manufacturing those semiconductors, but in having the technicians who are going to be able to work on them every step of the way."
TEL, headquartered in Austin and operating in Texas for more than 30 years, received a grant exceeding $3 million through the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, established by the Texas CHIPS Act signed into law in 2023. Combined with TEL's investment of more than $30 million, the funding supports the domestic workforce designing and manufacturing chips.