Thanks in part to investments from the CHIPS and Science Act, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) estimates that an increase in American chip manufacturing and development capacity will spur a 33% growth in industry jobs by 2030.
But according to research SIA conducted in partnership with Oxford Economics, there won’t be enough technicians, computer scientists, and engineers to fill those roles. The report estimates a shortage of around 67,000 technical workers, or 80% of newly created technical jobs.
Of those unfilled jobs, 39% are likely to be for technicians with certificates or two-year degrees, and 35% for engineers or computer scientists with four-year degrees.
Zooming out: A shortage of technical workers will have an impact beyond the semiconductor industry. Medical technology, clean energy, AI, and advanced manufacturing are just a few of the industries likely to feel the pressure of a “talent gap,” SIA said.
Approximately 3.85 million new technical jobs will be created across the US economy in the next seven years, but 1.4 million may go unfilled, the report said. According to SIA, we’ll need a multipronged approach to address the impending shortage.
One recommendation? Investing in partnerships and initiatives to grow the technician pipeline, like boot camps, apprenticeships, and community college training programs, ideally located near semiconductor fabrication plants.
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Another recommendation is to grow the engineering pipeline by attracting students to STEM and employing more STEM graduates in relevant fields, with an emphasis on “the semiconductor industry and other sectors that are critical to the future economy.”
But even with immediate attention, the domestic tech talent pipeline will take “years or decades to bear fruit,” the report advised. In the meantime, the current pipeline of American STEM students won’t be enough to fill the workforce gap. SIA recommends turning to international talent.
According to the report, more than half of master’s and doctoral engineering graduates at US institutions are foreign citizens. But 80% of students who earn master’s degrees and 25% of those who earn PhDs leave the country after graduation. That might mean we need a change to immigration policy.
“Providing easier pathways to permanent US residency has the potential to provide an immediate boost to the domestic talent pool available to the semiconductor industry and other technology industries of strategic importance,” SIA said.
“Reforms to high-skilled immigration policy that lower the barriers to US firms seeking to recruit and retain international students with advanced degrees can help to meet near-term skills gaps facing the semiconductor and other key technology industries,” the report concluded.