Fueled by record-high investment from semiconductor players and once-in-a-generation federal backing, semiconductor manufacturing capacity is poised for a massive expansion in the United States. This strategy aims to rebalance the country's supply and demand profile to establish greater autonomy in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and intellectual property rights; as the US secretary of commerce has stated, one of the goals is to propel the United States to produce 20 per cent of the world's leading-edge logic chips by 2030. All of this investment is expected to create up to 48,000 jobs at
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Fueled by record-high investment from semiconductor players and once-in-a-generation federal backing, semiconductor manufacturing capacity is poised for a massive expansion in the United States. This strategy aims to rebalance the country's supply and demand profile to establish greater autonomy in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and intellectual property rights; as the US secretary of commerce has stated, one of the goals is to propel the United States to produce 20 per cent of the world's leading-edge logic chips by 2030. All of this investment is expected to create up to 48,000 jobs at fabrication plants (fabs), some of which are slated to begin operating in the next two to three years. These new job numbers do not account for the rise in attrition the industry is likely to experience in the same time frame.
On the talent front, semiconductor players face an uphill battle. Already contending with considerable attrition and recruitment challenges, companies must compete with other industries for a shrinking population of skilled workers to build and operate their new US facilities. The talent needed to meet the surge in demand spans three distinct labor pools - construction craft laborers, engineers, and technicians. Each of these pools has its own pipeline and specialized skill set. Despite industry groups' efforts to raise awareness and boost recruitment, the supply remains inadequate. Targeted strategies customized to each pipeline are essential - staffing shortages could put domestic objectives for the industry at risk, drive up labor costs, and delay or diminish the return on this monumental investment.
Finding the talent and skill sets needed to support this high-stakes endeavor is a daunting challenge. Meeting the demand for semiconductor talent will likely require multiple public and private collaborations in addition to workforce development initiatives already planned or under way. This article examines some of those efforts, the nature of the jobs being created, and the labor pools targeted to fill them.
Excerpt from publication.
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