The semiconductor industry in the United States is facing a shortage of 67000 workers by 2030, and the US Congress is pushing for the Chip Act factory | project | US Congress
The construction project of American chip factories may not have to wait and see.
Members of both the House and Senate of the United States Congress have stated that they are pushing for a new legislation to ensure that the government completes environmental reviews of domestic chip factory related projects in a timely manner.
The lawmakers pushing for this new bill have expressed their desire to place chip factory related projects within the purview of the US Department of Commerce, thereby simplifying its environmental review process.
The new chip bill focuses on government regulation to "let go"
"Last year, Congress made historic investments in the chip industry, which are driving innovation projects in San Diego and across the country." California Democratic Representative Peters said, "Unfortunately, government licenses and regulations are delaying projects that are already under construction simply because they have received funding from the chip bill."
The federal regulations referred to by Peters include the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act and other bills that require environmental review, which takes an average of 4.5 years, plus an additional average of two years to fully build new chip factories.
At the beginning of this month, seven members of the House of Representatives, including Peters, proposed the 2023 US Chip Construction Act, and the Senate also introduced similar bills at the same time. Florida Republican Congressman Keegan, who participated in the drafting of the bill, stated that the purpose of the bills in both houses is similar, aiming to simplify the approval of currently under construction projects and other potentially delayed projects, and provide the Secretary of Commerce with more effective and efficient review tools to ensure timely completion of federal environmental reviews of semiconductor chip projects.
According to the bill, certain chip bill projects will no longer require NEPA review. These projects include: projects that have obtained necessary federal and state permits and begun construction; Expansion projects that do not exceed twice the site area; The chip bill provides federal aid for projects that account for no more than 15% of project costs.
In addition, the 2023 US Chip Manufacturing Act will allow the US Department of Commerce to act as the lead federal agency to conduct NEPA reviews on any Chip Act projects considered significant federal government programs, thereby maximizing opportunities to bring chip manufacturing back to the United States.
The new bill states that it will ensure that the federal government implements the previously passed Chip and Science Act more effectively and maximizes its promotion of domestic chip manufacturing, strengthening domestic supply chains, and reducing costs.
The US semiconductor industry faces a shortage of 67000 workers by 2030
According to a research report released by the American Semiconductor Association on Tuesday, the US semiconductor industry will face a shortage of approximately 67000 workers by 2030. The report jointly released by SIA and the Oxford Institute of Economics states that by the end of 2030, the labor force in the US chip industry is expected to increase from approximately 345000 this year to 460000. However, based on the current school graduation rate, the United States will not be able to cultivate enough qualified workers to fill this gap.
SIA reports that in the future, more than half of the positions in the chip industry will be engineers.
This report indicates that the new factories generated by the chip bill will bring new job opportunities, but it will also lead to a shortage of workers in key positions, including engineers, computer scientists, and technicians.
"This has been a problem we have been facing for a long time," said SIA President Neufer, stating that the shortage of skilled chip workers is only a part of the larger shortage of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States. By the end of 2023, these industries may face 1.4 million job vacancies.
Martin, Senior Economist at the Oxford Institute of Economics, said that this study demonstrates that without proactive talent development measures, the entire semiconductor industry will face a critical shortage of highly skilled workers.
Martin stated that the chip bill laid the foundation for long-term investment in the United States and improved the global competitiveness of semiconductor design and production. However, in the coming years, as the industry grows, there will be tens of thousands of new higher education jobs to be filled.
Although SIA and the Oxford Institute of Economics predict a shortage of tens of thousands of workers, Intel, which is developing large wafer fabs in Ohio and Phoenix, is even more pessimistic. Intel stated that the US semiconductor industry may face a shortage of 70000 to 90000 workers in the coming years.
