UTICA — On Point for College, a nonprofit education and career-attainment program, is setting its sights on the semiconductor industry to ensure the future pipeline of workers in the microchip-manufacturing industry.

On Point created a new dedicated career-advisor position in its Utica office and is working on developing a program that will help connect high-school students with the industry to learn more about it and the career opportunities in that field.

“The Micron announcement really reverberated across New York state,” On Point Executive Director Samuel Rowser says. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) announced in the fall of 2022 that it will invest up to $100 billion over the next two decades to build a semiconductor manufacturing campus in the town of Clay, creating nearly 50,000 jobs statewide.

That announcement got Rowser and his colleagues at On Point thinking what role the organization could play in ensuring a ready workforce for Micron by bringing awareness of the industry to the students it serves. Having another semiconductor business, Wolfspeed, Inc., which is already up in running in the Utica area, sealed the deal on the need for something, he adds.

Zachary Berle, who served as an On Point advisor, steps into the new career-advisor position. Berle holds a bachelor’s degree in human development from SUNY Oswego. Prior to joining On Point, he worked as an employment specialist and mental-health program coordinator at The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter.
“He’s a really, really smart guy,” Rowser says. “He does his research.” Berle is already at work designing the program.

On Point worked with NBT Bank to fund the creation of Berle’s position.

“New York has seen in influx of investment into the microchip industry which has accelerated over the last three years,” NBT Bank President/CEO John H. Watt, Jr. said in a news release. “At the same time our communities are celebrating this, studies show that there is an anticipated skilled labor shortage in the semiconductor industry. NBT is honored to support On Point in this effort to ensure that the communities we serve are positioned to benefit from the microchip investments.”

NBT has committed to funding the On Point career-advisor position for the next several years, David Kavney, NBT regional president for the Mohawk Valley and Central New York, says. Companies like Micron, along with Wolfspeed, energy-solutions company Danfoss, and even Global Foundries, a semiconductor producer in the Albany area, are creating a growing corridor of high-tech jobs that align with NBT’s operations footprint.

Funding the career-advisor job is a way for NBT to give back to and reinvest in the communities it serves, Kavney says. “Rising tides should lift all boats, and we really want to make sure all boats are lifted.”

On Point will also work with educators, businesses, and economic-development organizations to build pathways for students to apply for training and certification programs and college degrees that provide the necessary training and skills for careers in the microchip and semiconductor industries.

On Point’s efforts already include more than just the new position, Rowser says. The organization organized a trip Aug. 8-9 to take a group of students to tour Micron’s facility in Manassas, Virginia.

“The students need to see it so they can be it,” he says. They also want to arrange visits to the Utica–area’s facilities so students can see them, learn more, and hopefully spark interest in careers in and around the semiconductor industry, Rowser adds. It could inspire someone to be an engineer, or it could make someone realize they want to be the person who teaches those engineers, he says.

This new initiative is just part of On Point’s ongoing mission, Rowser adds. For them, it’s not about doing something with each “next cool thing” but a commitment over the years to developing and empowering students.

On Point has offices in Syracuse and Utica and provides its free services to those age 17 and older in Onondaga, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison, and Cayuga counties. Since 1999, the organization has helped more than 4,500 students earn more than 5,000 college degrees.