Security Clearance Demand Grows in Capital Region’s Tech Industries
A security clearance is becoming an increasingly in-demand qualification in the Capital Region as local tech workers play a greater role in manufacturing semiconductor devices for the U.S. Department of Defense and information security for the U.S. Department of Energy, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of job posting and LinkedIn profile data from Lightcast.
Security Clearance
Security clearance requirements, which involve a worker’s ability to pass a background check that affords him or her access to classified nation security information, are not new in the Capital Region. For example, LinkedIn features hundreds of profiles of workers in the eight-county region who list security clearance as a qualification. The region is home to several major defense-related facilities, such as the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, the Kenneth A. Kesselring site in West Milton, the Watervliet Arsenal and the Stratton Air National Guard Base in Schenectady.
However, what is new is a recent spike in job postings for positions requiring security clearance in the semiconductor and information security industries. In 2024, there were 72 semiconductor and related device manufacturing job postings1 with a security clearance requirement in the Capital region, compared to 13 the previous year and zero in 2022. Similarly, in 2024, there were 22 tech R&D2 job postings with security clearance requirements, compared to seven the previous year and five in 2022.
Semiconductor Manufacturing
The increase in the security clearance job postings followed DoD’s 2023 accreditation of GlobalFoundries’ Fab 8 in Malta as a trusted foundry. This accreditation came a year after DoD entered a $117 million agreement with GlobalFoundries to provide semiconductors built in Malta on Fab 8’s silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, which was transferred from its East Fishkill fab. Out of DoD’s 18 trusted foundries, Fab 8 is the only one in the country accredited by the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) to produce 45nm silicon phonics (SiPh) CMOS and 12nm FinFET technologies.
Information Security
Driving the growth in security clearance job postings in the research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences industry was the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which in 2022 entered a partnership with the University of Albany’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) to provide joint scientific exploration. PNNL is one of 10 U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, is managed and operated by Battelle and focuses on supporting U.S. energy resiliency. The national laboratory is also one of several entities with which UAlbany’s Forensics, Analytics, Complexity, Energy and Transportation Security Center (FACETS) has partnered through the Information Security and Education Collaborative (INSuRE).
Notes
1 NAICS 334413
2 NAICS 541713, 541714, 541715
CEG Initiatives
As a group sponsor for several apprenticeship programs in the Capital Region, CEG helps manufacturers and computer/IT companies upskill their workforce by leveraging community college partners, such as HVCC, and online education tools available via Tooling U. CEG currently supports 45 active apprentices at eight Capital Region manufacturers for the following trades: industrial maintenance technician, nanotechnology engineering technician, CNC machinist, and welder. Participating manufacturers include GlobalFoundries, NY CREATES, Plug Power, Ross Precision Machining, Meridian Manufacturing, Greno Industries, Jenks Manufacturing, and Espey Mfg, and Electronics. CEG also helped launch New York’s first software developer registered apprenticeship program.
Don’t miss these insights into the trends that are shaping the Capital Region’s economy. Sign up for CEG’s e-news and follow us on:
