Colorado Teams Up With IBM on Quantum Supply Chain Mapping and Technician Training

At a glance

Colorado has joined IBM's two-year Impact Accelerator program to grow quantum technology in the region. The program will study industry supply chains and workforce needs, and make IBM's quantum programming tool Qiskit (software for programming quantum computers) easier for more people to use.

Key points

1. 1

   The state's economic development office coordinates the effort with IBM, the regional group Elevate Quantum, and the Colorado BOCES Association.

2. 2

   In the first phase, they will build a dashboard showing capital flows, equipment availability, and chip factory dependencies across Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

3. 3

   The training focuses on technicians rather than graduate researchers, reaching rural schools to teach skills like cleanroom maintenance and vacuum system assembly.

4. 4

   Regional forecasts suggest mid-skill technical jobs will make up about half of the job growth in the cluster.

Why it matters

For quantum industry growth, both parts supply and skilled workers must be secured. This program examines those problems with data and tries to train technical workers.