NORDTECH: Advancing High-Tech Workforce Development in 2024 and Driving Further Opportunities in 2025
NORDTECH continues to lead a holistic approach to help address the workforce development challenge facing the microelectronics industry. The three pillars of NORDTECH’s approach: Exposure, Education, and Experience are defined by the Department of Defense Microelectronics Workforce Development Strategic Plan. To achieve true progress, NORDTECH has already begun to engage in programming that immerses children and young people in career-focused experiences related to chips and semiconductors. In addition to these efforts that began in 2024, NORDTECH continues to work toward updating and developing modern curricula in technical, community colleges and universities, upskilling and reskilling the current workforce, and providing experiential learning opportunities.
NORDTECH, in partnership with our industry and academic partners, supported the creation and expansion of twenty different and impactful workforce development initiatives throughout 2024. In their first year of operation our portfolio of initiatives reached an impressive 1,894 learners, with 40 percent of those being high school students, 20 percent being K-8 students, and 20 percent hailing from the skilled technical workforce. The final 20 percent of learners reached by NORDTECH’s workforce development focus was composed of diverse groups of undergraduate and community college students, university faculty and staff, transitioning veterans, and the general public.
NORDTECH remains committed to building the pipeline of innovators, scientists, engineers, and technicians who will become the technical workforce foundational to our growing U.S. semiconductor presence. The workforce development initiatives highlighted below have already contributed in important ways to our regional and national microelectronics ecosystem, and NORDTECH looks to expand these opportunities in 2025 and beyond.
Immerse children and young people in chips and semiconductors-related careers
NORDTECH, in partnership with the University at Albany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), is inspiring the curiosity of K-12 students in the microelectronics and the semiconductor industries. Programs like 15-Love, Tech Valley Camp, and the National Youth Science Camp offer students hands-on activities in STEM-related disciplines.
During the past year, students participated in building electric circuits powered by solar panels, enabling the operation of devices like lamps, fans, and alarms and leading to the exploration of renewable energy sources. These activities directly engaged students with circuit assembly, enabling them to learn about the behavior of electrical circuits and troubleshoot circuits. Students also engaged in hands-on fabrication of microfluidic chips and explored the control and manipulation of fluids at the micrometer scale.
Through these engagements, CNSE provides tours of the Albany NanoTech Complex, North America’s most advanced non-profit semiconductor R&D center which is owned and operated by NY CREATES. There, students observe cutting-edge nanoscale engineering labs and clean rooms. By interacting with faculty members engaged in groundbreaking research, students discover diverse career opportunities in the semiconductor industry.
Testimonials from our past participants in these camps and tours highlight the profound impact of these initiatives, showcasing how many of these inspired students pursue various engineering disciplines and establish successful careers in the semiconductor sector.
With the support of NORDTECH, exposure to the Career Alignment Platform (CAP) program was expanded with the installation of an interactive display screen in the new CNSE building on UAlbany’s Downtown Campus, reaching 1,739 students and industry professionals in 2024.
CAP was created by the Advanced Manufacturing Performance (AMP) Center to drive a systematic progression in skills mastery for technicians and engineers by organizing industry-relevant training content by career pathways in the advanced manufacturing of computer chips. CAP offers systems-focused training content and related testbeds organized by career pathways in partnership with supply chain companies serving the semiconductor industry.
In addition, the CAP initiative was featured at the NORDTECH lunch and learn series in the start of our second year of workforce development programming with expanded training content in facility operations and maintenance. The CAP program not only helps build awareness of semiconductor industry careers but also offers a roadmap and engagement points for the journey to productive and rewarding microelectronics career.
Update and develop modern curricula in technical, community colleges, and universities
The RPI-HVCC Scholars Program, a partnership between RPI and Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC), is designed to give community college students a transformative introduction to the world of semiconductors. In its inaugural year, the program attracted six scholars from HVCC. Unlike typical transfer pathways, the program starts with intentional engagement and deep immersion. The students start interactions with RPI faculty and students in the first year by visiting RPI’s Cleanroom and taking tours at other key NORDTECH partners’ facilities, such as GlobalFoundries and NORDTECH founding member NY CREATES and its Albany NanoTech Complex.
College students touring a cleanroom.
Upskill and reskill the current workforce
A cornerstone of NORDTECH’s Education and Workforce Development program is the Veterans Semiconductor Training and Experience Program (Vet S.T.E.P.), managed by NY CREATES as part of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) SkillBridge initiative. This 10-week program provides active-duty military personnel and veterans with hands-on training and experience in semiconductor manufacturing, offering a crucial pathway for transitioning into civilian careers in this high-demand industry. During NORDTECH’s first year supporting the Vet S.T.E.P program, 10 veterans successfully transitioned into local area industry jobs at Tokyo Electron, Wolfspeed, Kokusai and Semikron-Danfoss. The rapid uptake of Vet S.T.E.P. graduates into the U.S. semiconductor industry underscores the immense value veterans bring to this sector, and there are plans to continue to expand the number of veterans who receive this training.
April 2024 Vet S.T.E.P Class
Providing experiential learning opportunities
The Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) virtual cleanroom experience offers opportunities for technician training, outreach to K-12 for STEM, and supplemental curricula to undergraduate students at partner community colleges. This innovative initiative marks a significant leap in bridging the gap between technology and education, offering individuals of all backgrounds the chance to engage with our cleanroom environment in a dynamic and educational manner. With continued NORDTECH support, additional educational modules in the areas of etching, deposition, and metrology will be under development in 2025.
NORDTECH, in collaboration with the Griffiss Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate (AFRL/RI) in Rome, New York, continues to make significant strides in workforce development by providing students with unparalleled opportunities for hands-on defense-related research. The Griffiss Institute internship program allows participants to work on cutting-edge projects, sometimes involving classified research, a rare opportunity at the collegiate level. For more information on internships at the Griffiss Institute, please see Internship Opportunities - Griffiss Institute.
On the horizon
In addition to the impactful NORDTECH-related workforce initiatives already underway, we also have exciting new programming being developed in our second year as a ME Commons Hub.
First, NORDTECH, in partnership with the Griffiss Institute, will launch an intern/extern demonstration program designed to provide industry experience and placement opportunities with member industry partners, alongside related pathways for obtaining security clearance for defense-related work. Interns from across the NORDTECH network will work with world-class global researchers to gain hands-on experience while utilizing core facilities and infrastructure. Participants will benefit from mentorship, training, and placement opportunities with semiconductor manufacturers, fostering the next generation of semiconductor professionals. Through this initiative, NORDTECH aims to significantly contribute to the national microelectronics landscape with a scalable program that responds to the need for well-trained and diverse workforce, as well as the identification of potential participants to obtain security-clearance for work with sensitive technologies.
In addition, a cross-entity collaboration to create an open-source chip design offering will be under development in 2025. Led by a team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in partnership with Cornell University, NY CREATES, New York University, and the University at Albany, this initiative will offer much-needed chip design experience to learners across the NORDTECH hub. Participants will gain an understanding of digital chip design, analog chip design, software, system architecture, and project management.
Finally, the team at NORDTECH will be expanding Cornell’s AR/VR offerings focused on increasing access to nanoscale facilities for a broad spectrum of students. Cornell’s existing AR/VR capabilities will be leveraged and developed innovative training modules and outreach initiatives that can be replicated between and across hub members. In addition, these modules are adaptable and have the potential to be adopted across hubs throughout the Microelectronics Commons. By creating virtual reality modules for cleanroom processing and continuing its workforce development outreach, Cornell will provide cutting-edge educational tools and support exposure for a diverse range of students, from K-12 to graduate levels.
Contributing authors: Cheryl Kennedy (NORDTECH Program Director), Michelle Downes (NORDTECH PMO), Todd Humiston (Griffiss Institute), Michael Fancher (University at Albany), Nate Cady (University at Albany), Raji Venkateswaran (University at Albany), Jordan Carleo-Evangelist (University at Albany), Jose Martinez (Cornell), Shekhar Garde (RPI), and Robert Geer (NY CREATES)