Journal of Science Policy & Governance
Volume 25, Issue 01 | October 28, 2024

Policy Memo: Policy Priorities to Build and Sustain the US Semiconductor Manufacturing Workforce

Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante1, Victoria J. Hernandez1, Ishita Kamboj1,2, Aparajita Datta1,3, Joineé Taylor1,4
  1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, Washington, DC, USA
  2. North Carolina State University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Raleigh, NC, USA
  3. University of Houston, Department of Political Science, Houston, TX, USA
  4. Florida International University, Department of Teaching and Learning and STEM Transformation Institute, Miami, FL, USA
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​Corresponding author:  [email protected]​​
Keywords: Semiconductors; advanced manufacturing; workforce training; technicians; skilled technical workforce; Natcast; CHIPS for America
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG250116

Executive Summary

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 US. 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 US manufacturing workforce.

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Background header image courtesy of IEEE
Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante, Ph.D. is a Technology and National Security Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. She was formerly a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Constanza completed her Ph.D. at Harvard University, where she leveraged digital technologies to study human behavior and health. She was also a researcher with the Belfer Center and President of the Harvard Science Policy Group. Constanza has led multiple research projects on the policy implications of critical and emerging technologies and the domestic and global factors shaping the U.S. technology leadership strategy.

Victoria J. Hernandez, Ph.D. is an Associate Science Writer and Analyst at Rose Li & Associates. She was formerly a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She recently obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied TorsinA, a protein implicated in a heritable form the neuromuscular movement disorder Dystonia. Victoria is currently transitioning to a career in science policy, where she hopes she can leverage her skills in science communication to address issues in diverse areas including health, education, and the bioeconomy.

Ishita Kamboj is a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science & Engineering at North Carolina State University, where her dissertation focuses on cathode materials and architectures for lithium-ion batteries. She was formerly a Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Ishita is an applied materials electrochemist by training and has broad career interests in systems to spur R&D innovation in the interplay between materials sustainability and clean energy technology.

Aparajita Datta is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Houston and a UH Chevron Energy Graduate Fellow. She was formerly a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the Board of Energy and Environmental Systems at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Aparajita holds a bachelor's in computer science and engineering from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, India, and master’s degrees in energy management from the C. T. Bauer College of Business, in public policy from the Hobby School of Public Affairs, and in Political Science from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences  at UH. 

Joineé Taylor is a Ph.D. candidate in Physics Education at Florida International University (FIU) and a Preeminent Grad Scholar working on active learning reform with the STEM Transformation Institute at FIU. She was formerly a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Technology. Currently, Joineé works at the intersection of science and education as a physics education researcher on the national project "STEP UP for Women". Her doctoral dissertation focuses on enhancing student engagement in physics, particularly for traditionally marginalized groups, including female, Black, and Hispanic individuals.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the many semiconductor and workforce development experts across educational and research institutions, government agencies, and industry who met with us to discuss the topics and recommendations included in this memo.

Disclaimer
This article was originally submitted to the Journal for Science Policy and Governance in May 2024. In late September 2024, Natcast announced the launch of the Workforce Center of Excellence that this article originally called for. The authors were able to lightly edit the article prior to publication to acknowledge this development, but otherwise did not make changes to their recommended policy priorities for Natcast’s workforce development efforts.

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