Michelle Williams-Vaden

Day two of SEMICON Europa featured The Future of Work, an enlightening session that explored the significance of inclusive leadership in fostering a diverse and sustainable workforce. Speakers addressed pressing industry issues such as the global talent shortage.

On September 19th, the SEMI Foundation brought together CHIPS office representatives, workforce development thought leaders, and childcare solution providers to present the webinar Childcare in the CHIPS Act: Resources and Solutions.

Through SCAN, SEMI has launched new registered apprenticeship programs in Michigan and California, with the support and partnership of state agencies. In California, through funding from the California Apprenticeship Initiative, we are building RAPs for Applied Materials, Infinera, and Lam Research.

The journey of the three twentysomethings was chronicled in Chip In, a new documentary from Roadtrip Nation, a nonprofit that supports road trips to capture empowering stories that help students find careers. Chip In was made possible by the SEMI Foundation.

The chip industry loves its events. Many industry gatherings suffer from a particular challenge, one that confronts the microelectronics industry as a whole and undermines its ability to fully thrive: a lack of diversity.

More than 2 years after the start of the pandemic, the US unemployment rate has dropped dramatically to 3.5% in July 2022, the lowest since February 2020. However, the participation rate has not recovered in one important segment of the workforce: women – particularly women in professional careers.

Tech companies celebrate Pride in different ways, from diversity, equity, and inclusion Movie Clubs to Pride-focused trivia games and educational events. This type of company-wide celebration and recognition is important, because LGBT+ people face significant challenges in the workplace.

Now hiring signs are replacing masks and bottles of hand sanitizer as the ubiquitous markers of COVID-19, as the Great Resignation continues, and the Omicron surge ebbs. This is the new COVID reality: No industry seems to be fully staffed, and everyone is competing for talent.

Considering the history of computing and the low expectations for women that were once widespread in academia and the workplace, little wonder that women continue to face significant hurdles in the microelectronics industry. Today, women make up less than 25% of the computing workforce.

“As a global organization that supports the health and vitality of thousands of member companies, SEMI is committed to helping the semiconductor industry strengthen its workforce through embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Bettina Weiss, Chief of Staff and Corporate Strategy at SEMI.