According to media reports, with the influx of huge investments into the US semiconductor industry, the shortage of local labor has become increasingly severe, and the employment threshold for some basic operations has been greatly relaxed.
The report cites the experience of 36-year-old Lisa Strothers, an Arizona single mother who didn't know what to do next when she was fired from the mortgage industry last year.
A few weeks later, she received an email about the "Fast Start" program, a 10-day crash course on how to become a semiconductor processing technician. The program, the product of a new partnership between major semiconductor companies, notably Intel and TSMC, and three community colleges in Maricopa County, Arizona, was looking for applicants for a pilot version of the program that June.
Strothers, who has a bachelor's degree in film and media studies and a master's degree in human services, said she was new to the semiconductor industry at the time. She decided to apply because the program seemed open to a wide range of candidates and, if she successfully completed the course, guaranteed her an interview with a semiconductor company. Plus, the fact that the program was scheduled to take place at Mesa Community College (just a 15-minute drive from her home), and she didn't have a job, was also convenient, which made the two-week, four-hour-a-day commitment feel comfortable and manageable .
Meanwhile, community colleges and universities across the U.S. are teaming up with chipmakers including Intel, TSMC, Micron and GlobalFoundries to try to close the gap between labor supply and demand. The Fast Start Program website says semiconductor companies will employ more than 20,000 workers in Arizona over the next few years.
Most of the 15 to 20 students in her class, all of which are women, don't have any background in tech, Strothers said. The pilot group was formed by the Phoenix-based nonprofit Fresh Start Women's Foundation in partnership with MCCC.
Strothers said the 10-day course includes lectures and hands-on experience, and all of her lecturers are Intel employees, giving her valuable first-hand knowledge about working in the semiconductor industry.
During the lecture, she said, she learned about the specific role that semiconductor processing technologists play in the manufacturing process. For the hands-on portion, students don "rabbit suits" -- garments designed to minimize pollutants -- and practice troubleshooting various tools in a simulated factory.
After two weeks, the course ends with a final exam, which Strothers said includes a written test and a practical component. She passed the exam and received a program certificate—Semiconductor Pre-Apprentice Certificate. She eventually found a position as a semiconductor process technician at Intel's Ocotillo plant, where she started last August -- just four months after she was fired.
According to MCCC, as of June 30, of the 240 former "Express Entry" students who filled out employment results forms, 75, or 31 percent, said they had been "field hired." Others are either still looking for a job, 58 percent, or not looking for a job, 8 percent.
While the program has strong ties to Intel, an MCCC representative said all semiconductor companies in the region are members of an advisory board that oversees the program, with the goal of sending students to all of these employers.
After joining Intel, Strothers said that this job has advantages and disadvantages. Her income is higher than that of her previous position, and that Intel has a comprehensive welfare plan.
Strothers declined to disclose her earnings for privacy reasons, but the MCCC website says entry-level technicians can make $20 to $25 an hour, depending on their experience. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the median annual earnings of semiconductor processing technicians as approximately $45,000.
Another positive: The job is "never boring."
"Every day you go to work, you learn something different," she said. "I love that this job keeps me interested. I'm here to keep learning, to keep training."
She also said she really likes her team. Even though she was the only one without any background in the field, she said they were all very patient and helped her learn.
The biggest downside to her job, Strothers said, is her schedule, which includes 12-hour shifts three to four days a week, with varying days of the week.
"I start work at 5:45 in the morning and leave at 6:15 in the afternoon," she said. "So, that kind of schedule, especially as a single mother, is kind of difficult."
Looking ahead, she said she plans to stay at Intel because of the variety of opportunities she might get -- and she says no one on her team is in the same role as they started. She said she hopes to eventually find a position with a schedule that will allow her to spend more time with her nine-year-old daughter.
"We're a semiconductor company, but we also need people who can do this and that," she said. "We've got to have a legal team. We've got to have a media team. They let you know it's a step, but you can go to a lot of different places."
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According to Taiwan media United Daily News, TSMC coordinated with suppliers to dispatch 500 employees to the Arizona factory in the United States for support, triggering criticism from local labor unions for taking the opportunity to introduce low-wage workers, but in fact, TSMC is working with Three community colleges in Arizona offer short-term semiconductor technician quick-start training courses. Students who sign up can obtain relevant certification in only 10 days and have a chance to be admitted in the future. Due to the shortage of local labor force, although the mass production of the factory has been postponed, foreign media reported that three local community colleges have provided a quick entry program for semiconductor technicians. It only takes 10 days for students to obtain relevant certification, and the annual salary is nearly NT$2 million about RMB 450,000).
TSMC confirmed that the company is working with community colleges in Arizona to promote the Semiconductor Technician Quick Start program (Semiconductor Technician Quick Start program) to help accelerate the development of semiconductor talents in Arizona. This program includes the basic concepts, basic skills and work content of semiconductor manufacturing, and some course planning is indeed supported by the company. This is also one of TSMC's ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) projects to cultivate talents.
TSMC stated that through this plan, it can help people in the Arizona area who are interested in joining the semiconductor industry to understand the job content in a more systematic way, but the final employment still needs to go through the company's recruitment regulations and pass the interview before they are eligible for employment .
TSMC's move also reflects that TSMC also provides short-term training for local people who do not understand semiconductors, and assists the trainees to obtain relevant certifications. Some of these courses are taught by TSMC employees in person.
According to foreign media reports, such as Maricopa County Community College (MCCC) in Arizona, the tuition fee for a 10-day course is US$291, which is about NT$9233, plus a registration fee of US$15. Arizona residents, as long as they pass the course, they can receive full subsidies, and non-local residents can also receive partial subsidies. Since July this year, more than 600 students have participated. If they are successfully admitted by TSMC, the average hourly salary is $30, and the average annual salary is about $62,000.
The report pointed out that since July this year, more than 600 students have participated in the semiconductor technician fast-entry program at three community colleges in Maricopa County, Arizona. And someone has successfully found a job at Intel after obtaining the certification.
However, TSMC stated that the purpose of planning short-term training courses is only to help people who do not understand semiconductors pass the training courses and help them understand possible future job content. In the end, they must pass the company's recruitment regulations and interviews before they are eligible for employment. As for which company to work for after training, everyone's choice is respected.
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