Another milestone has been reached in the march towards central New York becoming a hub for the semi-conductor industry. Onondaga County Community College has opened a clean room, meant to train students to work in chip fabrication plants Micron is building in the Town of Clay.
There are several chip making machines in the 3,000 square foot space. OCC’s facility project manager Odae Badwan says all of the tools students will learn on, came from Micron chip fabrication plants from around the world.
“We're one of the only facilities that has an actual working automatic material handling system outside of Research and Development Lab,” said Badwan. “So just saying that, super incredible and blessed to be able to work on any of these tools.”
Instead of a ribbon cutting, officials gathered this week for a wire cutting, officially opening the brightly lit Micron Cleanroom Simulation Lab. OCC President Warren Hilton says it will provide a key experience for the students graduating with an Electromechanical Technology degree.
“While you don't necessarily need a clean room simulation laboratory to train technicians, this just gives our students in my opinion an extra advantage as they go into the workforce.”
Some students involved in the program have already gotten a job with Micron. 25-year old Nick Hay interned at Micron’s Virginia facility this summer and was offered a job after he graduates.
“It was life-changing to get out and be on my own,” Hay said. “And the knowledge that I got from in a high-paced environment and just an overall big company was a very new experience for me.”
April Arnzen, Micron’s chief people officer, is in charge of preparing a workforce for Micron’s $100 billion chip making campus in Clay. She’s happy to hear stories like Hay’s.
“The equipment in our clean rooms, it's very expensive equipment that is required to produce our memory,” said Arnzen. “And so for them to have that experience with that equipment in advance of walking into the clean room, they're able to contribute on day one.”
Hay’s advice to anyone wanting to get on the Micron train?
“Go for it,” he said. “Any door that opens, jump into it. I would not be here if I didn't walk through those doors. And if someone like me can do this, I know that anyone else can do it.”
Micron is expected to break ground on its first chip fabrication plant this fall.
