The Biden administration announced on Wednesday the launch of the National Semiconductor Technology Center’s (NSTC) Workforce Center of Excellence (WCoE) in an effort to improve the development of the U.S. semiconductor workforce.
The Commerce Department is expected to make a $250 million investment over 10 years into the WCoE – a critical part of CHIPS for America’s workforce development efforts.
Natcast – the non-profit entity designated to operate the NSTC by the Department of Commerce – also announced more than $11 million in anticipated awards across more than a dozen states through the NSTC Workforce Partner Alliance (WFPA) program.
These awards, which will further support workforce development efforts, are the first of many WCoE award programs expected to launch in the next decade.
The first cohort of awardees include: the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation; Idaho Technology Council; Maricopa County Community College District, Rochester Institute of Technology; Texas A&M University; University of California, Los Angeles; and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“With the department’s proposed investments of over $500 million in workforce efforts, this announcement is a critical milestone in our strategy to build a robust workforce in the semiconductor industry to help fulfill the mission set forth by the CHIPS and Science Act,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“Today’s announcement will help to advance our nation’s competitiveness in the semiconductor industry – creating pathways, skills, and opportunities for workers across the U.S.,” added Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Together, President Biden and Vice President Harris have put job-seekers and workers at the center of their agenda, because they know that that is how we truly build an economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”
To further support the work of the WCoE, Natcast is establishing a Workforce Advisory Board comprised of key stakeholders from industry, government, non-profits, training providers, labor, and academia. Nominations for advisory board members can be submitted online at www.natcast.org/workforce through Nov. 1.
