“We’re creating all these jobs — we need the workforce,” Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) said at a Tuesday conference.
“We’ve done a lot to really be very strategic and intentional about building that workforce pipeline, in partnership with industry and with our community colleges,” the governor added.
Hobbs was speaking in a panel discussion at the 2024 Western Prosperity Forum, held in Phoenix this week by the bipartisan Western Governors’ Association.
Don Graves, deputy secretary of the Department of Commerce, shared a similar perspective, stressing the need “to integrate workforce development and economic development.”
“This interweaving, if you will, the interconnection, is essential,” he said.
“Modern, industrial and place-based economic development will fail unless we create a sustainable pipeline of those with the skills and the training that they need,” Graves added.
Integral to building a diverse workforce are employer-led partnerships, steered by community partners, such as labor unions, education institutions and local organizations, according to Graves.
Hobbs particularly touted Arizona’s recent success in bolstering its construction and semiconductor manufacturing industries.
“We are number one in the nation for new semiconductor investments, with more than $100 billion and 15,500 jobs announced since 2021,” Hobbs said. “This is huge.”
Noting that hundreds of thousands of jobs are being created nationwide, Graves reiterated the importance of ensuring “that we have the workforce that we need to meet those jobs.”
“Workforce development is going to be absolutely vital to our success, not just at a state level but across the country,” Graves said.
