The Southern Arizona workforce is having an identity crisis.
Across the region, employers, educators and economic development leaders are working to build a talent pipeline that can keep pace with the industries arriving at their doorsteps.
Advanced manufacturing plants are emerging, aerospace suppliers are expanding, healthcare systems are straining under the weight of an aging population, and clean-energy technologies — from batteries to copper mining — are reshaping the region’s industrial identity.
In response, institutions like Pima Community College and Central Arizona College (CAC), along with organizations such as the the Chamber of Southern Arizona, are stepping up to meet the moment.
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Andrew Clegg, CAC’s academic dean of Workforce Development and Skilled Trades, studies these trends closely and meets regularly with economic development professionals to ensure the college’s programs align with industry demand. Serving as the initial point of contact for new and existing Pinal County businesses, Clegg and his team operate at the center of the region’s workforce strategy — part matchmaker, part strategist and part early-warning system.
“I look at myself as a facilitator,” he says. “We figure out their training needs and match them to the programs we have — or we build the programs they need.”
That flexibility has become essential in a rapidly evolving economy.
CAC offers both credit and non-credit training programs, with the latter providing fast, targeted upskilling opportunities. Clegg describes these offerings as “quick and dirty” — efficient, practical programs designed to get people into the workforce quickly.
These programs cover a wide range of high-demand fields, including water and wastewater operations, law enforcement and fire department professional development, early childhood education apprenticeships, manufacturing fundamentals and skilled trades.
Clegg points to CAC’s water and wastewater program as an example of how niche training can deliver outsized impact.
“It doesn’t sound exciting, but in order to have clean water and wastewater systems, you need trained operators,” Clegg says. “We train them, and we offer the state certification test on campus.”
CAC — with campuses in Coolidge, Winkelman, Maricopa, Apache Junction and San Tan Valley — is also expanding its footprint in skilled trades and healthcare-related fields. New and growing programs include sonography, radiology, pharmacy technology, esthetics, phlebotomy, commercial electrical, plumbing and HVAC.
The college’s approach is rooted in responsiveness.
“In some cases, we work with businesses to build the programs they need,” Clegg says. “That’s how we stay relevant.”
While advanced manufacturing is often cited as the region’s most urgent workforce need, Clegg encourages a broader perspective.
“We build programs that encompass all ‘advanced manufacturing’ — I’m using air quotes right now because ‘advanced manufacturing’ touches every industry,” he says.
The scale of that demand is significant. Major employers are rapidly expanding their presence across the region.
“Advanced manufacturing is our largest industry right now,” Clegg says. “Lucid has more than 3,000 employees. LG will hire between 3,000 and 4,000. Abbott is at around 500. Frito-Lay is at 300 to 400. These are huge employers.”
To meet that demand, CAC works in close coordination with Pima and Maricopa community colleges, aligning curriculum and training standards across institutions.
“We’ve aligned our training so manufacturers know that if someone is trained at Pima, Maricopa or CAC, they’re getting the same learning outcomes,” Clegg says.
Dr. Ian Roark, Pima Community College’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and workforce development, echoes that commitment to alignment and real-world relevance.
“We are looking at our programs in the context of a dynamic and changing labor market,” Roark says. “We’re ensuring academic programs have a direct connection to business and industry, and real-world relevance for our students.”
That includes expanding work-based learning opportunities — even within traditional transfer degree programs.
Pima Community College has also launched a network of specialized Centers of Excellence, funded in part through a revenue bond process. These centers are designed to address regional workforce shortages by offering industry-aligned training across multiple sectors.
“Our Centers of Excellence are co-located facilities where programs tied to a single industry are given the space and technology they need to grow,” Roark says.
Key facilities include the Center of Excellence in Health Professions at the West Campus, Centers of Excellence in Applied Technology at the Downtown Campus, and the Center of Excellence in Hospitality Leadership at the Desert Vista Campus.
The Aviation Technology Center — part of the Applied Technology network — stands out as a flagship asset.
“We now have one of the largest aviation training facilities in the greater Southwest, if not the country,” Roark says. “We teach aviation mechanics, powerplant structures, nondestructive testing, composite materials and more.”
The facility includes two large hangars, one capable of housing a Boeing 727 and a newer facility large enough to accommodate a 737.
While manufacturing and aviation continue to expand, another industry is preparing for significant growth: mining.
“Soon to take off is mining,” Clegg says, pointing to several projects in various stages of development across Pinal County.
Why the renewed focus? Copper.
“Copper is in everything — your cellphone, your computer, your automobile,” he says. “Arizona has always been a major producer, but now copper is on the critical minerals list. It’s profitable again.”
That shift is expected to drive hiring across multiple mining methods, from traditional open-pit operations to underground and in-situ extraction.
For workforce developers, that means preparing for a surge in demand across a wide range of technical and operational roles.
At the same time, the region faces a dual challenge: developing local talent while attracting specialized workers from outside the market.
“It’s not either/or — it’s both,” says Susan Dumon, the Chamber of Southern Arizona’s chief economic development officer. “We have to train the people who live here, but we also have companies with highly specialized roles that require talent from outside the region.”
To support recruitment efforts, the chamber launched Thrive in Tucson in partnership with Pima County during the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform helps prospective employees understand what it’s like to live and work in Southern Arizona.
“If I’m being recruited for a job, I want to know about schools, healthcare, neighborhoods, cost of living and culture,” Dumon says. “Thrive in Tucson gives companies a way to tell that story.”
The region’s economic pipeline has also shifted dramatically in recent years.
Before the pandemic, roughly 35% to 40% of Southern Arizona’s projects were office-based, including back-office and customer-service operations. That segment has largely disappeared, replaced by industrial, manufacturing, logistics and research-driven projects.
“The types of projects we’re seeing now are all industrial,” Dumon says. “That’s where the opportunities for growth are.”
Programs like Ready Tech Go, coordinated through the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, are helping meet that demand. The initiative includes Automated Industrial Technology (AIT), an industry-recognized program designed to prepare students for high-paying manufacturing jobs in a matter of weeks.
Students can earn their first certification in as little as two weeks and continue building toward an associate degree within two years.
For employers, that consistency is critical. For students, it creates mobility — allowing skills developed in one region to translate seamlessly into opportunities across the state.
While manufacturing and mining dominate headlines, healthcare may represent the region’s most urgent workforce challenge.
“We have an aging population,” Dumon says. “Retirees are a large part of our community, and they need more healthcare services.”
Healthcare leaders have raised concerns about their ability to recruit and retain physicians and other medical professionals.
In response, the he Chamber of Southern Arizona launched a physician shortage task force, bringing together hospital executives, public health officials and policymakers.
“It’s still early, but they’re looking at both policy and programmatic solutions,” Dumon says. “We needed to understand the problem first. Now we’re working on how to solve it.”
The chamber is also investing in long-term workforce strategies, including early childhood initiatives like Pima County’s PEEPs program.
“Workforce development doesn’t start in college — it starts when kids are very young,” Dumon says. “We want to set them up for success from the beginning.”
Across Southern Arizona, the message is clear: the economy is changing — and the region is changing with it.
For Clegg, the mission is deeply personal.
“My family and I live here,” he says. “This is near and dear to our hearts. We want to make sure we have the workforce to support all the businesses coming here.”
For Dumon, the moment represents both challenge and opportunity.
“Talent is always at the top of the list,” she says. “But we’re leading, partnering and supporting in ways that help Southern Arizona stay competitive.”
As industries evolve and demand accelerates, one thing is certain: the future of Southern Arizona’s economy will be defined by how effectively it builds — and sustains — its workforce pipeline.
