The Biden administration is launching a program to train semiconductor workforce in the USA. The program is called the Workforce Partner Alliance and will use a portion of the $5 billion federal funding reserved for the new National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC).
According to reports from Caijing, the Biden administration is launching a plan to train American computer chip labor force, aiming to prevent labor shortage from threatening domestic semiconductor production.
The plan, called the Workforce Partner Alliance, will use part of the $5 billion federal funding earmarked for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). According to reports, the NSTC plans to award subsidies to up to 10 workforce development projects, with a budget ranging from $500,000 to $2 million for each project.
The center will also launch additional application procedures in the coming months, and officials will determine the overall level of expenditure after considering all proposals.
In fact, this funding ultimately comes from the Chips and Science Act passed in 2022. The act allocates $39 billion to promote chip manufacturing in the United States, and an additional $11 billion for semiconductor research and development, including the NSTC.
In response to the incentive measures, companies have promised to invest more than 10 times the government subsidy, and this surge in investment will reshape the global semiconductor supply chain.
The US government's plan launched on Monday is the first time the act has focused on funding labor force. Industry and government officials have warned that without significant labor investments, these new factories may struggle. Some estimate that by 2030, the US will have a shortage of 90,000 tech workers, with a goal of producing at least one-fifth of the world's most advanced chips.
Michael Barnes, senior manager of workforce development project at Natcast, a nonprofit organization established to operate the NSTC, said, "We must develop a domestic semiconductor labor ecosystem to support the expected growth of the industry."
Since Biden signed the Chip Act more than two years ago, more than 50 community colleges have announced new or expanded semiconductor-related programs. The four largest chip act manufacturers in the US - Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology - each project includes dedicated labor funds ranging from $40 to $50 million.
On Monday, the US Department of Commerce also announced the 12th allocation of the act: providing $6.7 million funding to US chip foundry Rogue Valley Microdevices. This funding will be used to support the company's construction of a new factory in Florida, focusing on defense and biomedical application chips.