Institution: More than half of American chip workers are preparing to resign, intensifying labor shortages
A report by McKinsey&Company emphasizes the labor challenges in the chip industry, and as the United States seeks to attract more skilled workers to engage in semiconductor manufacturing, many existing employees are reconsidering whether to stay.
The report states that more than half of semiconductor and electronics employees indicate that they are at least likely to leave their current jobs within the next three to six months by 2023. This proportion is about two-fifths higher than in 2021. The most common reason is a lack of career development, followed by limited flexibility in the workplace.
Wade Toller, a senior consultant at McKinsey and who has worked at Intel for 20 years, said, "We are entering a period of demand boom. About one-third of the population in the semiconductor industry is over 55 years old. There are signs that some people's satisfaction is declining."
For chip manufacturers such as Intel and TSMC, this is an ominous sign as they are building large-scale new semiconductor factories in the United States under the push of the 2022 Chip Act. Ambitious expansion depends on finding enough workers to equip and equip these facilities.
Companies, universities, and local governments have developed new training programs to establish talent channels. But McKinsey stated that even optimistic predictions about the number of graduates from these programs cannot fill a "significant" gap. Some predictions suggest that there may be nearly 70000 job vacancies by the end of this decade.
This challenge involves three different labor pools: construction craft labor, technical personnel who design and install equipment in the final stage of construction, and technical personnel and engineers who maintain facility operation after facility completion.
The McKinsey report estimates that by 2029, a labor development program specifically designed for semiconductors is expected to cultivate approximately 12000 engineers and 31500 technical personnel. But a cutting-edge chip facility alone requires up to 1350 engineers and 1200 technical personnel to operate.
Toler said that these plans are a hopeful beginning. But few people pay attention to chip specific construction techniques, which may be the first bottleneck. Due to a lack of skilled construction workers, TSMC has postponed the production schedule of its first factory in Arizona. The nationwide construction boom, which not only covers semiconductors but also clean energy and infrastructure, means that many projects are competing for equally limited talent pools.
Toler said, "If we don't organize around this issue, there will be very real risks."
Wade Toller, a senior consultant at McKinsey and who has worked at Intel for 20 years, said, "We are entering a period of demand boom. About one-third of the population in the semiconductor industry is over 55 years old. There are signs that some people's satisfaction is declining."
For chip manufacturers such as Intel and TSMC, this is an ominous sign as they are building large-scale new semiconductor factories in the United States under the push of the 2022 Chip Act. Ambitious expansion depends on finding enough workers to equip and equip these facilities.
Companies, universities, and local governments have developed new training programs to establish talent channels. But McKinsey stated that even optimistic predictions about the number of graduates from these programs cannot fill a "significant" gap. Some predictions suggest that there may be nearly 70000 job vacancies by the end of this decade.
This challenge involves three different labor pools: construction craft labor, technical personnel who design and install equipment in the final stage of construction, and technical personnel and engineers who maintain facility operation after facility completion.
The McKinsey report estimates that by 2029, a labor development program specifically designed for semiconductors is expected to cultivate approximately 12000 engineers and 31500 technical personnel. But a cutting-edge chip facility alone requires up to 1350 engineers and 1200 technical personnel to operate.
Toler said that these plans are a hopeful beginning. But few people pay attention to chip specific construction techniques, which may be the first bottleneck. Due to a lack of skilled construction workers, TSMC has postponed the production schedule of its first factory in Arizona. The nationwide construction boom, which not only covers semiconductors but also clean energy and infrastructure, means that many projects are competing for equally limited talent pools.
Toler said, "If we don't organize around this issue, there will be very real risks."