Chip companies expanding their footprint in Texas must change how they approach talent intake as the semiconductor industry circles back to leveraging apprenticeships. They also educate the broader workforce on the opportunities available and how the industry underpins people’s daily lives.

In the second of two panel discussions hosted by the National Institute of Innovation and Technology (NIIT), semiconductor companies growing their footprint in Texas are transforming their culture to focus on skills over experience and allow for different types of apprenticeships.

ManpowerGroup understands the realities of the talent market, and thousands of people come into its offices daily trying to figure out their career paths. It has greatly leveraged NIIT to help people migrate from a manufacturing job to one in semiconductors through emerging apprenticeship programs.

Many companies hire full-time employees from contingent labor—it’s a massive avenue for people to get hired by corporations. A notable shift for ManpowerGroup as it supports semiconductor and advanced manufacturing companies is hiring for skills rather than just experience.

Another new challenge is that chip companies are no longer just competing with each other for talent—other sectors, such as automotive and other technology companies, want the same skillsets. Applied Materials, which collaborates with staffing companies like ManpowerGroup, must now compete with household brand names, and a registered apprentice program was part of the solution by offering more flexible pathways to improve the talent pool.

Flexibility is beneficial for other companies operating in Texas, such as NXP Semiconductors, which is upscaling its current workforce thanks to the work of schools like Austin Community College District, which takes on the group sponsorship aspect by handling monitoring and reporting on apprenticeship progress, as well as collaboration with NIIT and regional workforce development organizations.

GlobalFoundries, meanwhile has developed a unified competency model that led to a talent hub, which was a relatively new skill for the company, but it now has several hundred apprentices across its two U.S. fabs.

Read my full story for EE Times.

Gary Hilson is a freelance writer with a focus on B2B technology, including information technology, cybersecurity, and semiconductors.