Photos by Ralph Freso

On Monday, Chris Perez became the first high school graduate in his family but warned his excited parents, eager to celebrate, that he might have to skip out if the ceremony ran long.

His future already was beginning by midday at Grand Canyon University, the first day of an 11-week Manufacturing Specialist Intensive pathway, and he didn’t want to be late.

Pass the four classes and Perez could begin work as a technician at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), making chips that make the world spin.

Perez made it through his entire graduation, then rushed to his first day in the summer cohort that launched GCU Center for Workforce Development’s partnership with one of the largest semiconductor plants in the U.S., a behemoth compound rising in the last four years along Interstate 303 that has changed the face of the north Valley.

He joined 21 others in this first cohort, and TSMC is hoping GCU can help prep as many as 200 workers in the pathway each year.

Most are young men who just finished high school, like Perez, who sat outside the classroom Tuesday morning awaiting his second day of afternoon classes.

“My dad does concrete, and I worked with him every now and then, and even this morning he was like, ‘hey, let’s go,’ and I’m like, ‘yeah, I have to do homework.’ And my grandpa, he drives trucks. So that’s what I was raised from.

“They’re all like, ‘This is a really good opportunity.’”

Not bad for a student who dropped out of high school as a freshman and returned as a junior. “I worked hard to get here,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here.”

TSMC gathered and vetted the first cohort’s students but has turned over recruitment and preparation to GCU, said Shelly Seitz, director of GCU Center for Workforce Development, which is also holding a summer cohort in its newly-named Undergraduate Certificate for Electricians.

Seitz said the all-male first cohort is flavored with those who have skills such as “coders and gamers,” and that’s a good thing.

“In America, technician often means you’re working with your hands and making widgets. In Taiwan, a technician role is a computer role. … You’ll go to (the factory) to work with the people in bunny suits if there’s something held up, but predominately everything they do is on two screens at a workstation.

“So they’re playing – the word I heard somebody use – Tetris.”

It’s all part of GCU’s growing plan to fill workforce needs in trades that also includes pathways for electricians and for Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinists, featuring a working plant on campus (Lux Precision Manufacturing), and the newly-launched pathways in construction.

All told, GCU could see hundreds of students in pathways in the fall, many who find it a welcome alternative to four years of college or service industry work.

“It’s about filling the needs of industry and helping students find their purpose, whether it’s a one-year program in construction, undergraduate in cybersecurity or graduate degrees,” Seitz said. “It’s meeting people where they are, giving people a chance at a career that makes sense to them.

“And they have job security. They have a career. It’s not just a job.”

Dewey Thomas, program developer for the manufacturing intensive, said the cohort will give the participants a great inside look at the industry, including 2 ½ days of visits to the TSMC plant, along with English, math and two courses specific to the trade.

He stressed to the 21 participants on Tuesday, whom he labeled “the go-getter class,” that it is important to be on time and focused and to prize teamwork and communication. They are also expected to carry a B average, a higher standard than some programs, but in the end will have 16 credit hours of college and credentials with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

The participants watched as a gleaming, futuristic video about TSMC pronounced to sweeping music that “the world is a better place because of semiconductors; semiconductors can be better because of us.”

“The MSI pathway will create a great talent pipeline for the manufacturing specialist team to expand,” said Jacque Fan, manufacturing department manager of TSMC Arizona. “We plan to hire 100-200 people from the pathway each year to support our $165 billion investment commitment in TSMC Arizona, and look forward to seeing local talent join us and grow with us together.”

Participant Jason Hsu said his parents were born in Taiwan, and when his mom saw a flyer about TSMC’s need for technicians, encouraged him to apply to GCU’s pathway.

“They probably want me to get an education first, but I think this is like my introduction,” he said. “Most young people are tech oriented but I’m not. I’m more like physics. So this program will be real-world experience, more of an entryway I suppose.”

He hopes to begin work on a four-year degree later, a fitting example of the flexibility of options GCU is touting through its workforce center.

Phoenix Union High School asked for options for recent graduates, and so the workforce center launched a summer cohort in its electrician’s pathway, and roughly 20 are enrolled. In the fall, it will transition to two semesters and provide an option to become a degree-seeking program.

Other additions in the fall include more openings in its CNC pathway because of the expansion of Lux, which will have twice as many CNC machines, and the launch of McCarthy Building Company-sponsored Construction General Pathway. The two-semester pathway will help fill a labor force need in five areas – electrical, concrete, HVAC, mechanical and plumbing.

It means more opportunities for people like Perez, still with beads of sweat on his forehead after the walk to class.

“I’m happy I’m here right now, because it’s really hot outside,” he said. “I just never felt financially lucky. Then I get this opportunity. I’m like, yeah, I’ll take it.

“I’m betting all my chips on this.”

Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]

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