Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 3, Issue 3

34 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 producers with operations in the state include Lucid, Nikola, ElectraMeccanica, Zero Electric Vehicles, and Atlis Motors, along with legacy automotive suppliers like UACJ Whitehall, which announced in March 2021 construction of a 500- job factory in Flagstaff. All told, 2021 ended as a banner year for economic development in Arizona, with companies committing to investments topping $27 billion in the state – a record. A Magnet For Workers What’s driving the Copper State’s advanced manufacturing rise? State leaders point to a skilled workforce that is second to none. “Arizona is laser-focused on equipping workers with skills needed for in-demand jobs,” said Doug Ducey, Arizona’s Governor. “We bring everyone to the table, with industry driving where we have demand and how best to meet it.” Over the last ten years, CNBC ranked Arizona’s workforce in the top-10 nine times, with seven appearances in the top 5. Likewise, labor market analyst EMSI ranked Maricopa County, the region consisting of the Phoenix metropolitan area, no.1 in its 2021 Talent Attraction Scorecard for the fourth time in the last six years. Arizona has built a reputation for industry- led workforce solutions, such as the advanced manufacturing training site known as Drive48. The state-of-the-art facility, which launched in March 2021, features cutting-edge robots and multiple hands-on learning rooms to train workers for electric vehicle assembly. The program represents a unique public-private partnership between the Arizona Commerce Authority, Central Arizona College, local governments, and industry leader Lucid Motors, which had trained more than 700 workers at the facility by September. It’s a model the state seeks to replicate. In