On July 2nd Beijing time, the Biden administration is starting a program to cultivate the US computer chip workforce to avoid the threat of labor shortage to domestic semiconductor production.
This program is known as the Workforce Partner Alliance and will utilize a portion of the $5 billion in federal funds set aside for the new National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). The NSTC plans to award subsidies to up to 10 workforce development projects, with each project's budget ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. The center will also launch an additional application process in the coming months, and officials will determine the overall spending level after considering all proposals.
These funds come from the Chips and Science Act passed in 2022, which allocates $39 billion for promoting US chip manufacturing and an additional $11 billion for semiconductor research and development, including the NSTC. In response to the US government's incentive measures, companies have promised to invest more than 10 times the amount of government subsidies, and this surge in investment will reshape the global semiconductor supply chain. The program initiated by the US government on Monday is the first time this act has allocated funds with a focus on the workforce.
Industry and government officials have already warned that if there is no significant labor investment, the factories that enterprises plan to newly build may stumble. The US aims to produce at least one-fifth of the most advanced chips globally by 2030. However, some estimate that by then, the US will have a shortage of 90,000 technicians.
We must build a domestic semiconductor workforce ecosystem to support the expected growth of this industry. said Michael Barnes, senior manager of the workforce development project of the non-profit organization Natcast, which was established to operate the NSTC.
Since US President Biden signed the Chips Act two years ago, more than 50 community colleges have announced new or expanded semiconductor-related programs. The four largest Chip Act manufacturing grants in the US cover Intel, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Micron Technology, and each project includes dedicated labor funds ranging from $40 million to $50 million.
On Monday, the US Department of Commerce announced the 12th grant under this act: providing $6.7 million in funds to the US chip foundry Rogue Valley MicroDevices. This fund will be used to support the company's construction of a new factory in Florida that focuses on chips for defense and biomedical applications.