The CHIPS & Science Act-enabled National Network of Microelectronics Education, backed by the U.S. Commerce Department and the National Science Foundation, has expanded it’s footprint across four regional nodes.
Shalin Jyotishi
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Commerce are expanding a national effort to build the semiconductor workforce, taking the next step to strengthen how regions coordinate education and workforce development under the CHIPS & Science Act, which Congress passed in 2022. The non-profit SEMI Foundation was selected by NSF and the Commerce Department to operate the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME), the federal government’s central vehicle for meeting the semiconductor and microelectronics workforce needs created by the law.
Last month, the SEMI Foundation announced the launch of the first four NNME Regional Nodes, the operational backbone of the network and the mechanism through which the national semiconductor workforce strategy is expected to translate into coordinated, on-the-ground action to align education, industry, and workforce development organizations focused on semiconductor talent and career pathways.
The four inaugural nodes are NNME Southwest, led by the Arizona Commerce Authority; NNME Pacific Intermountain, led by Boise State University; NNME Northeast, led by NY CREATES; and NNME South, led by the University of Texas at Austin.
The SEMI Foundation and the NNME will work with the regional nodes to boost industry awareness, build and stress-test industry-aligned training programs, and track workforce outcomes, including student readiness, job placement, career progression, and employer satisfaction.
Together, the regional nodes connect more than 325 organizations spanning community colleges and universities, K-12 schools and STEM education partners, workforce development boards, economic development agencies, community-based organizations, industry associations, and semiconductor employers.
Under the NNME structure, NSF and the SEMI Foundation expect to support each Regional Node with funding opportunities of up to $20 million over five years.
“America’s ability to lead in semiconductors depends on whether we can build and sustain the workforce needed to power innovation here at home,” said Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana and a co-architect of the CHIPS Act.
“The National Network for Microelectronics Education represents the kind of national, industry-connected workforce strategy needed to strengthen America’s competitiveness, expand opportunity, and prepare the next generation of talent for high-demand careers in microelectronics and advanced manufacturing.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 27: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), speaks alongside Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) following the passage of the CHIPS & Science Act on July 27, 2022 in Washington, DC. Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images
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Aziz Safa, vice president at Intel Corporation, speaks during a news conference announcing the Southwest NNME Regional Node at an event hosted by the Arizona Commerce Authority in Tempe, AZ.
Mark Henle, Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Network
How NNME Regional Nodes Strengthen Semiconductor Workforce Ecosystems
The Southwest node provides a detailed picture of how the model is intended to operate on the ground. Convened by the Arizona Commerce Authority, NNME Southwest brings together 47 members across five states – Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and the southern region of California.
Its industry partners include Intel, TSMC, Amkor, Micron Technology, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Synopsys, Arm, Northrop Grumman, RTX, Teledyne Technologies, and HRL Laboratories.
Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, said, “Industry drives everything we do in Arizona, and that’s especially true with the NNME Southwest Regional Node.”
“We’re grateful to the Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation, and SEMI Foundation for their leadership and continued partnership in advancing the microelectronics workforce,” added Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs.
A recipient of substantial CHIPS investments, Arizona has attracted more than 70 semiconductor industry expansion projects since 2020, representing more than $214 billion in investment spurring a greater need for skilled workers.
The regional partners plan to meet the semiconductor workforce needs by accelerating attainment of industry-aligned stackable credentials, expanding hands-on, work-based learning opportunities and cleanroom access, and strengthening talent pipelines with a focus on engaging K-12 students and reaching rural communities more effectively.
One component of the Southwest node points to how the network intends to build regional capacity for semiconductor workforce development nationwide. SemiSphere, an educational content platform developed at the University of Arizona with funding from the Arizona Commerce Authority, has been tapped by the SEMI Foundation for deployment across its network.
The platform is designed to let instructors and industry experts create and share teaching materials for students from middle school through graduate school, aiming to make semiconductor instruction more consistent across regions.
Network members gather at a press conference announcing the NNME Southwest Node on May 27.
University of Arizona
Idaho governor Brad Little addresses attendees of the NNME Pacific-Intermountain Regional Node press conference at Boise State University.
Photo by Luan Teed
April Arnzen, Technology Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Micron, addresses attendees of the NNME Pacific-Intermountain Regional Node press conference.
Photo by Luan Teed
NSF Advances Regional Talent Coordination for Tech
The advancement of the NNME is part of a broader play by the National Science Foundation to improve regional coordination around workforce development connected to research and technological innovation in advanced and emerging technology areas.
Funding for the NNME flows through the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, the agency’s applied research, tech-based economic development, and innovation arm created by CHIPS. Speaking to the announcement, Erwin Gianchandani, head of the directorate, said, “America’s leadership in semiconductors depends on our ability to develop our talent. The NNME represents an important investment in America’s innovation capacity, talent readiness, and long-term competitiveness.”
The expansion of the NNME initiative follows the technology directorate’s announcement earlier this year to fund regional education and workforce coordination on AI literacy and readiness.
Dubbed the “TechAccess: AI-Ready America,” the initiative will support a national AI workforce convener, state-level AI readiness coordination hubs, and AI education efforts to help workers, small businesses, and local governments adapt to AI’s impact on the economy. The NSF launched the funding opportunity in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Labor and Agriculture and the Small Business Administration. The program was launched to further the implementation of the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan.
AI-Ready America hubs reflect a bet on a less visible but increasingly decisive layer of industrial strategy: workforce intermediation. Without careful coordination among educators, federal research dollars, and manufacturing incentives may fail to translate into economic opportunity. Successful implementation of federal policies like the CHIPS Act will increasingly require place-based institutions that can broker between employers, educators, economic developers, and the public workforce system.
Research by New America’s Future of Work and Innovation Economy initiative, drawing on experiences of the NSF Regional Innovation Engines, also created under the CHIPS Act, has argued that six key intermediation functions, not only the presence of quality training programs or education providers, are the underbuilt capacity in American economic development, especially in advanced and frontier industries.
The NNME Regional Nodes and the AI-Ready hubs are good illustrations of the NSF’s attempts to build local coordination and facilitation muscle nationwide. Whether these networks flourish and endure will shape how well the United States can align its workforce with the economic and national security ambitions of the CHIPS & Science Act and future industrial policies with similar goals.
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