Policy Priorities to Build and Sustain the U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing Workforce

Enhancing the United States’ global competitiveness in semiconductor manufacturing hinges on addressing the country’s substantial shortages of skilled technicians, scientists, and engineers. An initial focus on building the technician workforce offers a critical opportunity to develop advanced manufacturing capacity underlying multiple strategic technologies and to expand economic opportunities to broader sections of the population. The National Center for the Advancement of Semiconductor Technology (Natcast), a non-profit created to operate the public-private National Semiconductor Technology Center established by the CHIPS Act, is uniquely positioned to break down silos and maximize the value of workforce development (WFD) efforts within and outside government and across the U.S. In this role, Natcast should promptly roll out the announced Workforce Center of Excellence and prioritize activities that individual WFD stakeholders cannot accomplish on their own, including: 1) provide centralized information on semiconductor labor market dynamics and existing resources for WFD; 2) regularly convene communities of practice among government, industry, and educational institutions to boost cross-sectoral alignment and share best practices; 3) fund awareness campaigns about semiconductor career pathways to increase public engagement; and 4) establish program evaluation mechanisms to guide the scaling up of successful WFD efforts. Together, these strategic policy priorities can seize on today’s historical investments and political momentum to build the foundation for a resilient U.S. manufacturing workforce.