In September 2024, the United States Department of Commerce announced the launch of the National Semiconductor Technology Center’s Workforce Center of Excellence and a $250 million investment to address workforce development challenges in the national semiconductor industry. The Center of Excellence is a crucial component of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law in the United States in August 2022. The law included provisions that the Society of Women Engineers and its members had been asking about for years.
The CHIPS Act allotted more than $52 billion for semiconductor manufacturing, research, and development, along with workforce training and education, all aimed at bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the country. Though semiconductors were invented in the U.S., the manufacturing and research and development were offshored over the years.
Shortly after that announcement, Laurie E. Locascio, Ph.D., U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), spoke with Karen Horting, SWE executive director and CEO, on an episode of Diverse, a SWE podcast. Dr. Locascio spoke about the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, the progress that has been made under its auspices, and the impact the law is having on underrepresented groups in STEM, particularly women.
Dr. Locascio told Horting the Center of Excellence will help measure the effectiveness of existing workforce programs and amplify those efforts. “Programs that are able to attract, recruit, retrain, build interest, and create the diverse workforce that we want to build for CHIPS, that Center of Excellence is going to take those kinds of programs and scale them up,” she said.
The center will examine the number of people retrained under the act, analyzing their backgrounds and other important demographics. Workforce development is an integral aspect of the CHIPS Act, which is expected to create 115,000 jobs over the next 10 years in the semiconductor industry, according to the NIST press release.
“And with that, we have to create the workforce of the future,” Dr. Locascio said. “And it has to be diverse for a lot of reasons. One, we cannot reach our goals without engaging all of the people in all areas with all backgrounds to participate because we’re creating so many tremendous opportunities. And we have to open up opportunities to people who have never thought about working in the semiconductor industry. It’s really important that we get out the message.”
“These are good paying jobs. They’re interesting jobs. They’re high-tech jobs. They’re creative jobs.”
She observed that during her travels across the U.S. she met with many people who had never considered employment in the semiconductor industry or any associated research and development fields because there hadn’t been much exposure to the opportunities available in the sector.
“It’s completely different than it used to be or what people imagine it to be,” Dr. Locascio said. “I just gave a talk at the National Academy of Engineering. And one of the things that I was talking about is manufacturing is really engineering, right? It’s about creating things and making things and building things and doing it in such a way that is efficient and can create these beautiful end products.
“These are good paying jobs. They’re interesting jobs. They’re high-tech jobs. They’re creative jobs.”
Dr. Locascio noted that the CHIPS Act also funds projects that directly impact historically Black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions, and many of these institutions have advocated for CHIPS projects. Colleges and universities led by women presidents have also become involved, she said.
“That sort of self-organization has been helpful trying to get the best diversity into all the projects and programs we’re funding.”
Dr. Locascio also shed light on collaborative partnerships between institutions and industry, and the importance of efforts geared toward retraining, upskilling, and apprenticeships, especially for individuals who might be reentering the workforce after a gap in their career.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do because we must rebuild an entire industry in this country and at the same time, get all the best creative minds to start rebuilding a very large and robust R&D system,” Dr. Locascio said.
During the conversation, Dr. Locascio also discussed her career trajectory, going from research bioengineer to her current role, and the importance of diversity, not just in teams and perspectives but also in opportunities and mentors.
For the full interview, tune in to episode 286: CHIPS Act Update with Dr. Laurie E. Locascio of the U.S. Department of Commerce, on Diverse: A SWE podcast.
