Strengthening Community Colleges in Place-Based Innovation Ecosystems
Implementation approaches may shift under the new Congress and administration, but the multi-billion dollar and bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act—and industrial policies like it—are still poised to create thousands of job opportunities and require upskilling for incumbent workers.
Many of these jobs won't need a college degree but will require some post-high school training. That applies to the semiconductor industry and other emerging technology areas boosted by the "science" part of the act.
America's community colleges will be critical to successfully implementing the CHIPS Act and preparing the skilled technical workforce these sectors will need. Today, community colleges are more than transfer pathways to universities or education hubs for America's welders, care workers, and manufacturing sectors.
Community college pathways open doors to jobs shaped or created by the emerging technology areas emphasized in CHIPS—including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and beyond.
