Semiconductor Workforce

The US gap

Technicians Are the Largest Share of the US Chip Workforce Gap

About 67,000 US chip jobs could go unfilled by 2030, and 39% of them are technicians with a certificate or two-year degree.

The Semiconductor Industry Association and Oxford Economics project that US chip industry employment grows from about 345,000 to about 460,000 jobs by 2030. At current degree completion rates about 67,000 of the 115,000 new jobs go unfilled, 58% of new jobs and 80% of new technical jobs. The largest share is not PhDs:

The counts are computed from SIA's shares. A McKinsey and SEMI Foundation estimate reported in October 2026 puts the shortfall as high as 157,000 by 2030, and says only about 3% of US engineering graduates choose chip careers. The skills behind each role are on Skill Sets.

New US sites

15 US Chip Projects Must Be Staffed Between 2026 and 2031

The SemiconductorX fab dataset holds 15 US fab, packaging and test projects that are not yet in volume production. Each needs its technicians trained before its first tools arrive, and training has moved next to the sites:

Samsung's first Taylor fab alone is reported at about 3,500 jobs. Start years come from company statements and the dataset; Intel Ohio is delayed to 2030-2031 and TI's second Lehi fab has no date. Site detail is on Fab Facilities.

Taiwan, Korea, China

Taiwan's Chip Openings Reached 47,000 a Month in 2026

The US competes for the same people that Taiwan, Korea and China are short of:

• Taiwan: 104 Job Bank counted an average of 47,000 semiconductor job openings a month in 2026, up more than 20%, and more than 10,000 a month, one in four, are AI-related. Postings for assignments in the US and Canada rose from 247 a month in 2025 to 593 in 2026.
• South Korea: Samsung and SK hynix fund contract departments whose graduates are hired on completion; for the class entering in 2027 Samsung offers 350 seats across seven universities, including Yonsei and Sungkyunkwan, and SK hynix 110 across three, including Korea University and Sogang.
• China: a 2023 report by Arm China and Beyond Consulting put 2022 demand at about 199,300 chip workers against a supply of about 164,300, a gap of about 35,000. Beijing made integrated circuits a first-level academic discipline in 2021, and Tsinghua, Peking and other universities opened Schools of Integrated Circuits.

The university programs in each country are on Universities.

Federal programs

The Federal Workforce Center Lost Its Operator in 2025

The CHIPS Act put workforce money in two places: grants to individual fab projects, which carry workforce commitments, and the National Semiconductor Technology Center, whose operator Natcast ran a Workforce Center of Excellence. In late August 2025 Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ended the government's agreement with Natcast, calling it a slush fund, and the center's work moved to NIST without its staff. The same month Commerce withdrew funding for the $1.1B NSTC prototyping and advanced packaging facility planned at Arizona State University's research park.

Industry money filled part of the gap. Applied Materials put about $200M into the $270M Materials-to-Fab Center that opened at ASU in October 2025, where students and researchers work on production tools. The current state of CHIPS awards and programs is on CHIPS and Science Act and Programs and Incentives.

Training

Technician Training Has Moved Next to the Fabs

Most US technician training now runs through community colleges partnered with one chipmaker:

• Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona: the Semiconductor Quick Start, built with Intel, is 10 four-hour classes over two weeks for three college credits, with a $270 stipend covering tuition for Arizona residents.
• TSMC Arizona apprenticeship: a registered program with facilities, equipment and process technician tracks taught with Estrella Mountain Community College, Rio Salado College and Northern Arizona University; apprentices earn a journeyman card.
• Onondaga Community College, New York: a 3,000 sq ft Micron cleanroom simulation lab with tools donated by Micron opened in October 2025 for the Clay fabs.
• College of Western Idaho: Micron's two-year registered apprenticeship had produced about 50 technicians by February 2026, against about 200 Micron needs for the Boise fabs due in 2027.
• Austin Community College and UT Austin: a Semiconductor Training Center with the Texas Institute for Electronics, which committed $3.75M to start it.

SEMI added micro-credentials for cleanroom operations and fab maintenance in 2026. The credentials and standards a fab worker meets are on Certifications and Training.

Workforce pages

Workforce Coverage on SemiconductorX

• Universities: the university programs placed next to new fabs in the US, Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan and Europe.
• Certifications and Training: technician programs and the equipment, quality, safety and security standards fab work is done to.
• Skill Sets: which skills employers are hiring for, from equipment technicians to AI yield engineers.
• Conferences: the 2026 and 2027 calendar, with SEMICON West moving to Phoenix.

Related coverage

Related Coverage

• Universities
• Certifications and Training
• Skill Sets
• Conferences
• US Reshoring
• Fab Facilities