DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Universities in the Miami Valley are working to make sure people have the skills they need to work for Ohio’s new Intel plant.

The Intel Corporation awarded Wright State University two grants to develop new curriculum so people at any stage in their education and careers can develop skills in semiconductor manufacturing.

“We already have some of those basic most of those core capabilities at at Wright State,” Wright State’s Intel Initiative Chair Dr. Subhashini Ganapathy said. “What we are looking to see is how can we enable that and enhance that to work with other universities and create like hands on workshops or like rapid certification.”

Wright State University will work with Central State University to help it build a semiconductor educational program and a microelectronics lab.

The curriculum will teach students the skills they need to land an internship or job at Intel and related companies.

President Biden visited Ohio Friday for the groundbreaking at the plant site in Licking County. The semiconductor manufacturing facility is expected to create more than 3,000 high-tech jobs.

“It’s really an exciting time for Ohio,” JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef said.

Nauseef said even before the Intel announcement, Ohio prioritized education and skills training for all Ohioans.

“We knew Ohio was going to need a significant in the in the hundreds of thousands of stem or steam talent, science, technology, engineering, arts and math, but it’s an all hands on deck strategy,” Nauseef said.

Wright State will fit into that mission because this curriculum is not just for traditional students, it’s there to provide upskilling and reskilling for those already in the workforce.

“Somebody who has already been working for ten years in our manufacturing company, and they want to learn about micro fabrication services or smart manufacturing, they could take one course and get that credential,” Ganapathy said.

Wright State is one of four universities in southwest Ohio that is creating new chip manufacturing curriculum, which could be offered to students as early as this spring.