GF Diversity-hiring Plan Partnership to bolster U.S. Chip-making pipeline
GlobalFoundries recently announced that it has partnered with Micron Technology Inc. and the U.S. National Science Foundation to invest in workforce development through diversity-hiring practices.
The collaboration, in conjunction with minority-serving institutions (MSIs), is designed to help the burgeoning U.S. semiconductor industry fills its workforce needs. Together, GF, Micron, and the NSF will support silicon “chip” workforce development at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs), and tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) throughout the nation.
In addition to spurring diversification in hiring, the goal of the investments is to create talent pathways through education and career reentry initiatives.
“As an industry, we must work together to collectively address the great need for a robust, diverse pipeline of talented individuals who will be the semiconductor innovators and leaders of tomorrow,” said Pradheepa Raman, chief people officer of GlobalFoundries. “Strong public- private partnerships, like our collaboration with Micron and NSF to support minority-serving institutions, are critical to continue the work of inspiring and developing the skilled workforce our industry needs to grow.”
“We look forward to collaborating with our partners to increase access to equitable education, address student programming, and teacher and faculty professional development, and strengthen infrastructure through future funding opportunities,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for technology, innovation, and partnerships.
The alliance bolsters the workforce development goals of the federal CHIPS and Science Act and New York state’s Green Chips legislation to help ensure a continuous pipeline of semiconductor-producing talent in the U.S.
“Micron’s and GlobalFoundries’ historic investments are transformative for upstate New York and the nation and will put in place another critical workforce development initiative to deliver the workers needed to fill the tens of thousands of new jobs that will be created,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a driving force in the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022.
“In recent weeks, my CHIPS and Science (legislation) delivered a whopping $6.1 billion for Micron to build their megafab project and another $1.5 billion for GlobalFoundries’ expansion,” he added. “Now, Micron and GlobalFoundries are working to develop a workforce pipeline to train and attract the next generation of talent, putting students from our top-notch educational institutions into jobs in the semiconductor industry.”
“We are excited about the opportunities to grow efforts with GlobalFoundries that have led to increased summer internships and experiences at GF’s Malta facility for students at multiple CUNY schools including LaGuardia, Queensborough, and City Tech,” said Tavis Ezell, director of business development for the City University of New York’s Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC). “With our industry partners, we are identifying the necessary skills needed to support jobs across the vast semiconductor ecosystem and bolster current curricula across a wide range of CUNY degrees, connecting interested students to training opportunities, whether their first internship experience is at the ASRC or at an industry partner such as GlobalFoundries.”
GF’s support of MSIs is the company’s latest effort to build a talent pipeline for a current and future workforce. In November 2023, GlobalFoundries announced a new student loan repayment program to help U.S.-based employees and eligible new recruits pay up to $28,500 in student loan debt, tax-free, to help ease the financial burden of higher education and training. GF’s first-of-its-kind apprenticeship program provides opportunities for individuals with no prior experience or training in the semiconductor industry, offering full-time paid positions and cost-free college courses to high school graduates.
Previously, GF has established partnerships nationwide with top universities and strong regional engagements with community colleges in New York and Vermont as well as access to worldwide talent through its global footprint to help build a diverse workforce and semiconductor talent pipeline. To help inspire younger children, GF has instituted a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) outreach program to engage with regional middle schools and high schools, including Early College High School and Career and Technical Education programs, to bring industry awareness and hands-on experiences to students.
