In late March, Gabriella Medina, 28, and Danelle Makofske, 45, walked into a community college classroom in Mesa, Arizona, hoping to set themselves up for a new career. 

“I was so scared,” Makofske said. “I came for a fresh start, really.” 

The semiconductor industry helped set up and fund the Quick Start program at Maricopa Community Colleges, a two-week course aimed at preparing students for entry-level jobs in the semiconductor industry. 

With visits from both first lady Jill Biden in 2022 and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in May, the program has been celebrated by the Joe Biden administration as a national model for workforce training. 

“I’m here trying to make a career out of it and better my life for me and my daughter,” said Medina on her first day of class. 

Both Medina and Makofske were part of a special cohort of Quick Start students from Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Phoenix that helps women build independence through job training and other services. 

When “Marketplace” checked in with Medina and Makofske about a month after they had completed the program, neither had found jobs. Since then, both women have had ups and downs. 

Medina, who has a 1-year-old daughter, received an internship offer from Intel, but had to decline it because the hours wouldn’t work with her schedule. “I gotta balance life and work,” she said. Later, she received an offer for a new Intel apprenticeship program designed specifically for women like her. 

She’ll attend classes at Maricopa Community College at the same time as she gets hands-on work experience in one of Intel’s factories. In a year, she’ll be a certified journeyman. 

“I’m gonna be able to build myself up just having that journeyman’s license and then hopefully becoming an engineer or something,” she said. “Knowing that the future is bright for both me and my daughter is going to be amazing.”

On the other hand, Danelle Makofske has struggled to find a position. “I do have a [criminal] background,” she said. Now, well into an addiction recovery program, she said she “lives a whole new life.”

Makofske said she’s received seven job offers in the semiconductor industry, only to be denied in the background check stage because of her record. “I do take it as a positive, though, because these people meet me for who I am today, not for who I was in my past, and they want me on their team,” she said.

Despite the setbacks, Makofske remains hopeful that she’ll find a position soon. “This whole process of just the schooling, the interviews, having job offers, it’s really boosted up my self-confidence,” she said. “That’s something I’ll always carry with me.” 

Click the audio player above to hear Medina and Makofske share their stories.