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I'd like my city to specialize in electronics, starting with the processor factory. One of the requirements of the processor factory is that I have to have 5 medium-tech industrial buildings in my city but unfortunately I only have low-tech industry.

The industrial side of my city is pretty well off, they love to build big buildings but they're mostly large factories. I've even bulldozed them once or twice to see if they're rebuild with higher tech. How do I convince my sims to build higher tech industrial buildings?

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    You need better educated sims. I do not know enough for answer, because I haven’t gotten that far, but from what I know, you need a city in a region with Ministry of Education built, so you can unlock HS, Com. college, and uni. I wonder if HS is enough for mid-tech.
    – theUg
    Commented Mar 6, 2013 at 21:09
  • It doesn't seem solely based on the existence of a HS, because I have one. Maybe on the measure of "educatedness"?
    – authenticgeek
    Commented Mar 6, 2013 at 21:20
  • It is based on the measure of education. Universities are in instant boost to tech level 3, but Community College is only level 2. High School and Elementary School are focused on preventing sims from committing crimes, starting fires, and polluting heavily, not industry.
    – Sadly Not
    Commented Mar 6, 2013 at 21:56
  • @SadlyNot, are you sure it is just instant boost? Or the industry moves in, but cannot necessarily find educated enough workers at first?
    – theUg
    Commented Mar 6, 2013 at 22:26
  • @theUg Both of what you said happens. The industry will instantly boost up in tech, but then you're faced with the problem of having no workers to fill the jobs unless you have high/medium class educated workers. You will also have issues with no commercial to sell your freight too if you don't have high-end commercial in your region. This is what happened to my city when I added an early university.
    – Sadly Not
    Commented Mar 7, 2013 at 1:48

3 Answers 3

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In my experience so far, the most important factor in increasing industrial tech is placing a community college or university in your city. You can also accelerate the process of converting your industries to high tech by placing this near your industry. It will immediately boost their happiness (you will see green smiling faces pop up), and they will begin to develop very soon.

For example, let me give you a scenario from my play time last night. I had a decent size city going (50,000 pop), with demand through the roof for residential and industrial zoning. This city is currently the only one in the region, so there were no outside factors influencing my city education level, or any sims coming from other cities for jobs. I had a large industrial sector comprised completely of low tech dirty industry, even with a well funded grade and high school operating.

Having read the tool tip for the community college, I decided to plop it on the edge of where my industrial zones met my medium to low income housing zones, as the tooltip indicated it would help boost industry and be a place for mid income sims to receive college training.

The moment, and I mean literally the moment, that my community college staffed itself and opened its first classes... every factory within 4 blocks began upgrading itself to mid-tech industry. In fact, my income dipped about $4000 while all the factories upgraded at the same time.

So, in conclusion, if you want high-tech jobs, you need not only educated sims, but college educated sims, preferably university educated for the highest tech level.

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Look at the Tech Level map overlay, which will tell you the progress your industry is gaining in tech. It should be green. If it's not green, put more education in your city, or you can acutely effect tech by putting colleges adjacent or very close to your industry. I slowly increased to Tech III by using only a Grade School and a City College.

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    Can you really get to tech level 3 with just a grade school and community college? I have not seen it advance past tech level 1, even with all sims educated. As soon as I plop a University, however, it takes off to level 3 rapidly.
    – Tater596
    Commented Mar 12, 2013 at 20:09
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If your city has lots of factories but you only have few skilled workers, don't expect to have high tech industries. But if your population and skilled workes are going through the roof then almost all factories will be tech 3. Processor factories eat lots of your skilled workers making high tech industries complain of not having enough skilled workers.

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