With domestic semiconductor manufacturing surging, one of the limiting factors is the availability of a workforce that is knowledgeable in the nuances of the industry and also possesses the unique skill sets required to be successful. The sheer quantity of highly skilled employees needed by the industry is one of the most limiting factors in widespread and rapid growth. Domestic supply of talent must be nurtured, cultivated, and in massive numbers; importing the numbers of workers from other parts of the world will not be sustainable in the long term. This presentation will list the obvious skills needed (obvious by the industry, not the educational community by the way) and how high schools, technical schools, and universities can address the needed knowledge transfer. A landscape of the closely related programs of mechatronics engineering, industrial engineering, and industrial maintenance programs throughout the United States will be introduced. Discussion will include videos from cutting edge educational institutions such as Northeastern University, West Virginia University, Humber College and others that are training students in Industry 4.0 technologies and systems and how organizations such as the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) are issuing performance-based credentials closely aligned with worker requirements.
