Intel would not have come here with education cuts planned (Phoenix: high school, universities)

[Ponderosa]

Former CEO of Intel, Craig Barrett, said that Intel would not have located plants here if the education funding situation then had been what it is now. Goes to show how important a good public education system is to major employers and how slashing it is bad for business and bad for the future of our state. Barrett's comments were echoed by several executives of leading Arizona businesses. I hope Gov. Brewer and the legislature are paying attention.

Read more:http://www.azcentral.com/news/electi...intel-ceo.html

[keninaz]

I don't believe it.
First of all many factors come into play when a major company is looking at relocating such as the projected wages they could expect to pay and the housing costs that employees would have that would affect wages.
Wages in AZ and the costs of housing are down in this state and the numbers of employees ready and willing to work for less is up.
All things that corporate America looks at.

[EnicAZ]

I agree with how important it is for us to be thinking about what our lack of education funding says to employers. If families don't want to be here, it is going to directly impact whether employers will want to establish themselves here. Fortunately Intel was here before as the story indicates, otherwise Arizona would have been glosses over for another state (likely nearby) state.

[Bondurant]

Barrett, who said he was not speaking for the company, made his remarks at a board meeting of the newly created Arizona Commerce Authority, the quasi-public agency that replaced the state's Department of Commerce.
Barrett said if Intel were starting anew, Arizona likely wouldn't be in the running for its business.
"I hate to say it, but I think Arizona would not be in the top 10 locales to make that investment," he said.

Speaking for himself only and saying "likely wouldn't" isn't a slam dunk. Your post is misleading. At least you did post the link so folks can read for themselves.

[phxgreenfire]

Originally Posted by keninaz

I don't believe it.
First of all many factors come into play when a major company is looking at relocating such as the projected wages they could expect to pay and the housing costs that employees would have that would affect wages.
Wages in AZ and the costs of housing are down in this state and the numbers of employees ready and willing to work for less is up.
All things that corporate America looks at.

Umm... costs of doing business aren't everything. Phoenix has a relatively low level of people with Bachelor's attainment (see link below) and public education here isn't exactly a point of pride. I've also heard ease of getting to/from work, crime, image, etc. can affect a company's decision to open up shop in a city. Sunny weather and low costs aren't enough to attract businesses en masse.

Interactive: State of Metropolitan America Indicator Map - Brookings Institution - State of Metropolitan America - Brookings Institution

[AzDreamer]

We hear the same thing from Microsoft up here in Seattle. Our education sucks and there aren't enough qualified locals to fill available jobs.

Maybe the product produced at U.S. schools isn't what it needs to be. I'll bet more spending would fix that, right?

[Ponderosa]

I attended a Arizona business conference many years ago where Barrett was the keynote speaker. He talked about how important quality education was to Intel. He explained Intel's efforts in Arizona including how they were funding programs at the universities and even a high school in Chandler as I recall.

Education matters. It is huge, people. You can grasp your wallet and slip into denial, but unless AZ improves its public education system and reputation for being last the party is over. It is not just business leaders who say this. Virtually every one moving here who posts on the forum wants to know where the good schools are. We are just shooting ourselves in the foot by cutting investments (yes INVESTMENTS) in education in this state.

[AZ bound]

Originally Posted by phxgreenfire

Umm... costs of doing business aren't everything. Phoenix has a relatively low level of people with Bachelor's attainment (see link below) and public education here isn't exactly a point of pride. I've also heard ease of getting to/from work, crime, image, etc. can affect a company's decision to open up shop in a city. Sunny weather and low costs aren't enough to attract businesses en masse.

Interactive: State of Metropolitan America Indicator Map - Brookings Institution - State of Metropolitan America - Brookings Institution

While I agree, these numbers can be misleading. It shows a higher percentage in Phoenix than Phoenix metro. I guess it could lead one to believe that the rural people ain't as edumacated.

[khuntrevor]

He's retired, and the woman they quoted runs a call center. Barett also stated they probably wouldn't locate anywhere in the US, and that would include places that spend 18000 per student and have worse problems than us. Making students show up on time, and remove their earphones wouldn't cost a Dime.

[Finger Laker]

Education is huge - AZ imports a lot of talent, but really doesn't produce a ton when it comes to the better white collar jobs

It's difficult because as a newer metro they don't have the legacy of these firms

Also, it's not just the public education system - it's the total .... within 3 hours of the phoenix metro you have 2 elite universities and both are pretty specialized (embry riddle & thunderbird)

I know first hand how difficult it is to find workers for certain kinds of jobs and some of the local candidates I've interviewed have been just horrible (some have been wonderful though)

Now there are a lot of decisions that can go into placement - however, education is important not only for having workers who can fill jobs at this corporations but also recognizing that people who've attained enough corporate success to make such a decision often value education and frequently have families .... the people they want to entice have the same considerations .... it's hard to draw people with options to an area where you know the schooling choices are very poor