Recent developments, such as the 1,200-acre Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant under construction in Taylor, are spurring the growth and the need for collaboration to ensure a strong pool of workers.
Jerry Jones, executive director of the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation, said that until recently there was little collaboration between these entities.
“There were silos that existed where folks knew that they should probably collaborate with one another, but no one really knew how to take that step and remove those silos,” he said. “The best way to do it is just take a wrecking ball to those silos and start over, and I think that’s what we’ve done.”
By the numbers
The number of workers needed to fill jobs in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Metropolitan Statical Area by 2030, according to Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area, include:
- 48,000 total advanced manufacturing jobs
- 8,000 new jobs
Two-minute impact
With major projects underway in the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing sectors in Central Texas, industry leaders are facing a limited pool of talent to draw from.
For roughly a third of high-demand jobs, the region’s supply of workers is at or below the national average, according to the latest Central Texas Semiconductor and Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Report. Many workers are also nearing retirement.
Large companies, such as Samsung Semiconductor Austin in Taylor, require a large workforce, and the area has seen an influx of third-party businesses open.
Samsung’s Taylor plant will have about 1,000 employees within the first two quarters of 2026, Michele Glaze, senior director of communications at Samsung Electronics, said at a Hutto Chamber of Commerce luncheon in October. For every one job, she said two to three additional jobs are generated.
In response, institutions such as Texas State Technical College and Austin Community College, public schools like Pflugerville and Hutto ISDs, and other organizations are combining efforts to educate and train the workforce.
“The industry needed it yesterday,” said Kelly Coke, provost at TSTC’s Williamson County campus. “That's our biggest challenge. It's happening so fast and the demand is so high, and we're moving as fast as we possibly can.”
New companies and developments in the area are fueling the demand for advanced manufacturing workers.
As the new Samsung plant in Taylor is expected to become operational in 2026, companies in support of the semiconductor industry are flocking to the area. Recently, Dutch semiconductor supplier ASML announced plans in October to take up over 32,000 square feet of office space within The Hutto Co-Op District. The company specializes in lithography machines used to mass produce chips.
Other companies contributing to the tech boom include semiconductor chemical manufacturing company Soulbrain, Skybox PowerCampus Austin in Hutto, and Titan Mega TechCenter in Hutto.
In September, Italian-based Caracol opened its U.S. headquarters in Pflugerville, bringing its 3D printing and robotics technology to the market. The company manufactures large-scale industrial parts for several industries, including aerospace, energy, automotive, construction and automotive.
Caracol hired 10 employees to work out of the Pflugerville facility this year, and Violetta Nespolo, chief marketing and strategy officer, said the company expects to hire more over the next three years. She said the team assembles printing machines, tests them and ships them to customers, which requires engineers as well as workers with experience in 3D printing and robotics.
While the company values these “hard skills,” Nespolo said Caracol also looks for candidates with strong communication.
Education requirements for entry-level technicians vary based on job responsibilities, ranging from a high-school diploma or short-term postsecondary training to a Level 1 certificate or an associate degree—all paths that area institutions have created in recent years.
ACC’s advanced manufacturing program, which earned a national certification in February, offers a six-week certificate in addition to associate degrees and a Bachelor of Appliance Technology. The college also received a $3.6 million grant from the state of Texas as part of a program to encourage semiconductor research.
In September, TSTC opened new space for its Advanced Manufacturing Technology-Industrial Maintenance program, while the school continues construction on a new 70,0000-square-foot facility. The $47 million building will house programs for semiconductor manufacturing, industrial systems and precision machining technology.
Public school districts are also pitching in. PfISD offers an advanced manufacturing program in partnership with ACC, and will open its new Career and Technical Education facility in 2027.
Advanced manufacturing wages in the metro look like:
- Average entry wage: $17.37 per hour
- Average median wage: $27.14 per hour
What they’re saying
Local leaders agree that, to grow the workforce, the industry needs to attract students to the technology field.
Coke said it starts with changing the conversation around industrial work and overcoming a stigma associated with it.
“Advanced manufacturing has changed,” she said. “It is a new way of manufacturing. It’s cool, it’s technology-driven, [and] it’s hands-on. It’s not the old way of manufacturing you think of.”
PfISD recently set a goal, known as the “Three E’s” initiative, to make sure each student graduates with a plan for employment, enlistment or enrollment in higher education.
At a September discussion on workforce readiness among a panel of local leaders, PfISD Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said school systems have to rethink the educational routes students can take.
“There are no lesser paths. ... It’s about pursuit and making sure that our kids are on the right pathway and can pursue those jobs that include industry-based certifications, high skills [and] high wages,” he said.
Going forward
Strong workforce development helps companies fill jobs and gives students access to better-paying careers, but Jones said it also benefits the community as a whole.
The increased industry can help the region by adding to property values and attracting small businesses, such as retail, restaurants and other commercial developments, he said.
“Citizens with good-paying jobs who have disposable income support our commercial development, which really helps generate sales tax,” Jones said. “It also relieves the burden off of citizens when there are more businesses that are paying ad valorem taxes and diversifying the tax base.”
