Development and Implementation of a Semiconductor Workforce Certificate Program Based on a Unified Advanced Manufacturing Competency Model

根据2018年的一项调查，全球电子制造业行业标准协会（SEMI, semi.org）发现，超过85%的企业受访者将缺乏合格的劳动力视为首要战略挑战。随着物联网、人工智能、量子计算、自动驾驶汽车、智能医疗设备和5G等领域的快速发展，对熟练技术劳动力的需求只会增加。为了满足这一需求，需要采用综合方法来吸引学生从事STEM职业，并提供将学生、教育项目和雇主作为一个生态系统而不是单个部分联系起来的教育和职业途径。为了满足这一需求，该项目将开发和试点一个基于创新的统一能力模型的全行业半导体劳动力认证计划，该模型利用了美国劳工部的能力模型。作为SEMI战略“SEMI工厂”计划的一部分，SEMI将开发并提供多层次的半导体技术员证书。该计划将由SEMI和东北先进技术教育中心（NEATEC）开发，并在两年制和四年制大学的16个技术教育项目、技术高中项目和纽约州德拉姆堡新过渡的退伍军人中进行试点。该试点项目随后将扩展到俄勒冈州和北卡罗来纳州。据估计，到项目结束时，将有近400名学生获得SEMI半导体技术员证书。该方法有望创建一种新的、内在灵活的、可更新的能力模型，适用于广泛的技术人员技能集。该项目将开发：1)统一先进制造能力模型和半导体制造子行业能力模型，通过为每个能力添加熟练度和相关性量表（0-4），改造现有的美国劳工部-埃塔先进制造能力模型；2)技师教育项目的SEMI认证模式；3)熟练驱动的学术校准计划，该计划将审查合作伙伴的技术人员教育计划，并将课程和计划学习成果转化为能力概况格式，以便与SEMI技术人员认证计划进行技能差距/匹配分析。这项工作将为任何美国学术机构创建一个可转移的学术审查和校准过程，以获得其技术人员教育计划的SEMI半导体劳动力认证。项目成果将包括有史以来第一个全行业的半导体技术人员认证计划，以及一个自动化的基于网络的SEMI认证门户，该门户将由SEMI维护和更新。该门户将为认证学术项目建立、维持、比较和更新统一先进制造能力模型，并为认证更新提供自动化途径。该门户网站还将为雇主、技术人员教育计划和个人求职者提供指导劳动力战略的工具。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Based on a 2018 survey, the global industry standards association for the electronics manufacturing industry (SEMI, semi.org) discovered that more than 85% of corporate respondents identified a lack of a qualified workforce as a top strategic challenge. With rapid growth in areas such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, autonomous vehicles, smart medical devices, and 5G, the need for a skilled technical workforce will only increase. Addressing this need requires an integrated approach to attract students to STEM careers and to provide the education and career pathways that link students, education programs, and employers as an ecosystem rather than as individual parts. To address this need, this project will develop and pilot an industry-wide Semiconductor Workforce Certification Program based on an innovative Unified Competency Model that leverages the U. S. Department of Labor competency model. A multi-level, Semiconductor Technician Certificate will be developed and offered by SEMI as part of its strategic 'SEMI Works' initiative. This program will be developed by SEMI and the Northeast Advanced Technological Education Center (NEATEC) and piloted at 16 technician education programs at two-year and four-year colleges, technical high school programs, and with newly transitioned veterans at Fort Drum, NY. The pilot program will then be expanded to Oregon and North Carolina. It is estimated that, by the conclusion of the project, nearly 400 students will have earned a SEMI Semiconductor Technician Certification. The approach is expected to create a new, intrinsically flexible and updateable competency model applicable to a wide range of technician skillsets. The project will develop: 1) a Unified Advanced Manufacturing Competency Model and a Semiconductor Manufacturing Sub-Sector Competency Model, transforming the existing U. S. Department of Labor-ETA Advanced Manufacturing Competency model by adding a proficiency and relevance scale (0-4) for each competency; 2) a SEMI Certification model for technician education programs; and 3) a Proficiency-driven Academic Alignment Program that will review partner technician education programs and translate course and program learning outcomes to a Competency Profile format for skill gap/match analysis with SEMI Technician certification programs. This effort will create a transferrable academic review and alignment process for any U.S. academic institution to obtain a SEMI Semiconductor Workforce Certification for its technician education programs. Project outcomes will include the first-ever industry-wide semiconductor technician certification program, and an automated web-based SEMI Certification portal that will be maintained and updated by SEMI. The portal will build, sustain, compare, and update the Unified Advanced Manufacturing Competency Model for certified academic programs and provide an automated pathway for certification updates. The portal will also provide tools that guide workforce strategies for employers, technician education programs, and individual job seekers. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.