Behind the A.I. Boom, the U.S. Semiconductor Sector Is Facing a Looming Talent Crisis
The U.S. semiconductor sector could see a labor shortage of up to 146,000 workers by 2029, McKinsey found.
The rapid expansion of the U.S. semiconductor industry could potentially be stifled by a looming talent crisis. A new McKinsey study found there could be a potential shortage of between 59,000 and 146,000 workers—technicians and engineers—in the domestic semiconductor sector by 2029.
Semiconductors, also known as chips and integrated circuits, power everything from smartphones, computers, microwaves and cars all the way to military weapons and A.I. applications.
The labor shortage could make it harder for suppliers to keep up with the growing demand for chips, especially as A.I. continues to boom. The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act provides nearly $53 billion to spur the development of the chip sector on American soil.
Since President Biden signed the bill in August 2022, major chip manufacturers like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung (SSNLF) have received billions in federal investments to build new factories and expand their operations across the U.S.—funds slated to create over 115,000 manufacturing and construction jobs.
But if they don’t have enough technicians and engineers, factories won’t be able to run at their full capacity. In turn, manufacturers will be less productive, which could raise the price of consumer devices.
“The world’s semiconductor leaders are betting on the U.S. becoming a manufacturing hub that has productivity similar to their home geographies,”
On top of that, the inability to close the gap could make it harder for the U.S. to compete in the global semiconductor industry. The U.S. imports the majority of its chips from Taiwan, and as tensions between China and the island escalate, the production and shipment of chips to the U.S. could potentially come to a standstill.
Academic institutions, in collaboration with public and private agencies, have made some efforts to expand America’s semiconductor workforce.
In the meantime, a range of actions chip makers can take to staff up. In the short term, they could hire workers from different industries with transferable skills and target outreach to immigrant communities and veterans to increase awareness of chip-related roles, according to the study.
In the long term, manufacturers could invest in geographic expansion efforts, like broadening bus networks to widen the labor pool and building up their certification and apprenticeship programs.
“It’s just going to take some time,” Wiseman, McKinsey’s semiconductor lead, said. “The industry at large needs to do a bit of a better job in speaking to folks in the right age range and their influencers to be able to figure out how to get folks excited about this path.”
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