Florida is positioning itself as a key player in the semiconductor industry, according to state leaders and experts who convened at the inaugural Florida Semiconductor Engine Conference, “Powering Prosperity,” on August 28 in Kissimmee. The event drew over 250 participants from government, academia, and industry to discuss the future of semiconductor technology and workforce development in Florida.
Ron Piccolo, interim CEO of the Florida Semiconductor Engine, stated, “This conference is more than a singular event. It is the continuation of strategic, bold, and coordinated efforts that will shape the future of semiconductor technology in Florida, the U.S., and around the world.”
The National Science Foundation-supported consortium based at Osceola County’s NeoCity technology district could receive up to $160 million over ten years to boost advanced semiconductor packaging in the state. Osceola County has previously secured $50.8 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and is set for an additional potential $289 million from the Department of Defense for microchip production and workforce initiatives.
Throughout the conference, panelists discussed strategies for building talent pipelines tailored to advanced packaging—a sector enabling complex technologies distinct from chips used in common consumer products. As demand grows due to developments in artificial intelligence and other tech sectors, Florida’s semiconductor sector is expanding alongside national efforts to increase domestic manufacturing.
Florida ranks third nationally for its number of semiconductor establishments and fifth for manufacturing employment with over 18,000 jobs statewide. Nationwide efforts are expected to generate significant investment and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs as part of reshoring initiatives (https://www.semiconductors.org/chips-faqs/).
“We are in the perfect position, I’d argue, and the best position of any state in the nation to be able to go out and attract those jobs,” said Jason Mahon, Deputy Secretary at Florida Commerce. He noted that Florida has invested $380 million into workforce education related to semiconductors during the past four years.
A key topic was how educational institutions can meet growing labor needs. Paul Sohl, CEO of Florida High Tech Corridor, led a panel with leaders from University of Central Florida (UCF), Valencia College, University of South Florida (USF), and University of Florida—all members of an NSF-backed coalition focused on research collaboration.
Valencia College recently launched an associate degree program in Semiconductor Engineering Technology—the first such program in Florida—developed with input from employers like SkyWater Technology specifically for training technicians at NeoCity. Kathleen Plinske, president at Valencia College explained: “Give us 15 weeks — and we can help you earn an industry certification that will land you a full-time job with benefits.”
UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright shared that engineering enrollment had increased from 12,000 to 17,000 students with ambitions for further growth: “UCF was founded as a startup with a mission to provide workforce, and that’s the mindset we need to expand across Florida,” he said.
Sylvia Wilson Thomas from USF highlighted semiconductors’ broad impact: “When we talk about AI, what is the underlying technology behind it? It’s semiconductors,” she said. “Helping society understand that research in this field directly impacts health, transportation, and communication is critical and commercialization is how we turn that into real impact.”
David Arnold described Lab Link—a new initiative by UF’s Florida Semiconductor Institute—to foster inter-university collaboration: “We challenge these teams of students to come up with an idea that came out of (their) conversations… Our goal is to try to fund these as collaborative inter-institutional research partnerships.”
Don Fisher described Osceola County’s decade-long commitment: “We have been in this development process since 2014… In the past 36 months we have received over $500 million in investment either from State or federal partners…the federal government is telling us you did something well — continue work on it.”
Jason Mahon summarized why investments focus on education: “At state level we’ve invested $380 million into workforce education side…you build facilities…but if you don’t have people who are going work them we’re not actually going anywhere.”
Piccolo added: “We have a mission to transform U.S. semiconductor industry through collaborative research…to build most advanced technical workforce…create regional economic prosperity… Now these are not small ambitions…If this were happen it won’t happen by accident…it will only happen by visionary leadership.”
More information about ongoing projects can be found via Florida Semiconductor Engine or Cenfluence’s cluster.
