America’s rise in semiconductors faces a challenge: not enough workers

Maxon Wille, an 18-year-old from Surprise, Ariz., was driving toward Interstate 17 last year when he saw a huge construction site: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company at work on its new facility in Phoenix.

A few weeks later, while he was watching YouTube, an ad for a local community college popped up 10-day program that trains people to become semiconductor technicians. He graduated from the course this month and now hopes to work at the factory once it opens.

“I can see this being the next big thing,” said Mr. Wille.

Semiconductor manufacturers say they need to bring in more workers like Mr. Wille to staff the factories being built in the United States. America is on the verge of a boom in semiconductor manufacturing, bolstered by billions of dollars being poured into the industry by the federal government. President Biden had said the funding would create thousands of high-paying jobs, but one question looms: Will there be enough workers to fill them?

“My biggest fear is investing in all this infrastructure and not having the people to work there,” said Shari Liss, the executive director of the SEMI Foundation, a nonprofit arm of SEMI, an association that represents electronics manufacturers. “The impact could be very substantial if we don’t figure out how to create excitement and interest in this industry.”

Lawmakers passed the CHIPS Act of 2022 with lofty ambitions to make the United States a semiconductor powerhouse, in part to reduce America’s dependence on foreign countries for the tiny chips that power everything from dishwashers to computers to cars. The law included $39 billion to fund construction of new and expanded semiconductor facilities, and manufacturers wanting a share of the grants have already announced expansions across the country.

Since the enactment of the CHIPS Act, more than 50 new facility projects have been announced and private companies have committed more than $210 billion in investment. This is reported by the Semiconductor Industry Association.

But that investment came against the tightest job market in years, with employers across the country struggling to find workers. Semiconductor manufacturers have long found it difficult to hire workers due to a lack of industry knowledge too few students entering relevant academic fields. Company officials say they expect it to become even more difficult to hire for a range of critical positions, including the construction workers who build the factories, the technicians who operate equipment and engineers who design chips.

The U.S. semiconductor industry could face a labor shortage of about 70,000 to 90,000 in the coming years. This is according to a report from Deloitte. McKinsey has that too predicted a shortage of approximately 300,000 engineers and 90,000 skilled technicians in the United States by 2030.

Semiconductor manufacturers are struggling to hire more workers, in part because there aren’t enough skilled workers, according to officials, and they have to compete with big technology companies for engineers. Many students graduating with an advanced engineering degree in the United States were born abroadAnd immigration regulations make it challenging to obtain visas to work in the country.

Ronnie Chatterji, the White House CHIPS implementation coordinator, said it would be a big challenge to fill the new jobs, but he was confident Americans would want them as they became more aware of the domestic expansion of the industry.

“While it hasn’t been the sexiest job for people compared to some of the other things they graduate with, it hasn’t been on the radar either,” said Mr. Chatterji. He added that America would be less “prosperous” if companies could increase production but lack the workers to do so.

In an effort to meet labor demand, the Biden administration said it did this month create five initial “workforce hubs” in cities like Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio, to train more women, people of color and other underrepresented workers in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing.

So do administration and company officials pushed for changes improve retain foreign-born STEM graduates, but immigration remains a controversial topic in Washington, and few are optimistic about reform.

While some industry leaders see technology as an antidote, as automation and artificial intelligence can amplify a single engineer’s output, companies rely primarily on training programs. Federal officials have supported that effort and pointed out that funding could become law in CHIPS used for the development of the labor force.

Intel, which announced plans to spend $20 billion on two new chip factories in Arizona and more than $20 billion on a new chip manufacturing complex in Ohio, has invested millions in partnerships with community colleges and universities to train technicians and expand the relevant curriculum.

Gabriela Cruz Thompson, the director of university research collaboration at Intel Labs, said the company expects to create 6,700 jobs over the next five to 10 years. About 70 percent would be for technicians who typically have a two-year degree or certificate.

She said the industry had faced staffing challenges for years and she was concerned about the number of “available and talented skilled workers” who could fill all of Intel’s new roles.

“I’m very confident,” she said. “But am I absolutely sure, 100 percent? No.”

Micron, which pledged as much as $100 billion over the next two decades or more to build a massive chip manufacturing complex in New York, also has new workforce programsincluding those educating veterans and teaching middle and high school students about STEM careers through “chip camps.”

Bo Machayo, Micron’s director of US federal affairs, said the company roughly expected it would be necessary 9,000 employees after the full expansion in the region.

“We understand it’s a challenge, but we also see it as an opportunity,” he said.

To qualify for the federal grants, manufacturers must submit applications to the Department of Commerce, including detailed plans on how they will recruit and retain employees. Companies applying for more than $150 million are expected to provide high-quality, affordable childcare.

“We don’t think a company can just post a bunch of vacancies online and hope the right staff shows up,” said Kevin Gallagher, a senior adviser to the Secretary of Commerce.

The lack of interest in the industry is evident in academic institutions. Karl Hirschman, the director of microelectronic engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said the university was “a long way from” the maximum enrollment for its microelectronic engineering education, which trains students for semiconductor-related careers. Enrollment averages about 20 new students each year, compared to more than 200 for the university’s mechanical engineering.

While students graduating with more popular engineering degrees could work in the semiconductor industry, many of them are more aware of and attracted to tech companies like Google and Facebook, said Mr. Hirschman.

“We don’t have enough students to meet the need,” he said. “It just gets more challenging.”

Community colleges, universities and school districts are creating or expanding programs to attract more students to the industry.

In Maricopa County, Ariz., three community colleges are teaming up with Intel to build a “quick start” program to prepare students to become tech novices in just 10 days. During the four-hour classes, students learn the basics of how chips are made, practice using hand tools, and try on the head-to-toe jackets technicians wear.

Since its inception in July, more than 680 students have enrolled in the program, said Leah Palmer, executive director of Mesa Community College’s Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Institute. The program is free for in-state students who complete it and pass a certification test.

In Oregon, the Hillsboro School District launched a two-year program last year advanced manufacturing learning program that allows 16- to 18-year-old students to earn high school credits and be paid to work on the production floors of companies in the semiconductor industry. Five students are participating and officials hope to add at least three more to the next cohort, said Claudia Rizo, the district’s youth student project manager.

“Our hope is that students will be offered employment with the companies if they decide to stay full-time, but also be open to the option of pursuing post-secondary education through college or university,” Ms. Rizo said.

Universities are also expanding undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. Purdue started one semiconductor training last yearand Syracuse, which has worked with Micron and 20 other institutions to improve related curriculum plans to increase engineering enrollment by 50 percent over the next three to five years.

At Onondaga Community College, near Micron’s extension in New York, officials will offer a new one two-year training And one-year certificate in electromechanical technology starting this fall. The programs were underway before Micron announced it would build the chip factory complex, but would help students qualifications needed to work there, said Timothy Stedman, the university’s dean of natural and applied sciences.

While optimistic, he said interest could be lower than officials had hoped. Enrollment in the college’s electrical and mechanical technology programs has dropped noticeably from two decades ago, as more students have come to view four-year college degrees as the default path.

“We’re starting to see the pendulum swing a little bit now that people realize these are high-paying jobs,” Mr Stedman said. “But I think there’s still quite a bit of work to be done.”

Anne Swanson reporting contributed.