On June 12th, Natcast launched the 2025 NSTC Workforce Awards Program (Workforce Awards), a grant opportunity that aims to address the growing shortage of researchers, engineers, and technicians in the U.S. semiconductor industry. This program provides grants ranging from $500,000 to $2 million to support 1-2 year projects focused on semiconductor training and education. Eligible applicants include domestic for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations, and accredited institutions of higher education. For more information about this opportunity, please register for Natcast’s informational webinar on Wednesday, July 9th or apply for the grant now.

Additionally, the NSTC Workforce Center of Excellence released an interactive dashboard in support of efforts to address the semiconductor industry’s projected talent gap. The dashboard, called “From Classroom to Cleanroom: Talent Development in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry,” tracks on the flow of talent from postsecondary institutions to the workforce, calculating an “industry attraction rate” that represents the degree to which relevant programs feed into semiconductor industry roles.

For our partners who are interested in applying for NTSC’s Workforce Awards grant, or would like to further investigate programs that are producing semiconductor technicians, engineers, and computer scientists, please reference the resources above. Shan Strategies will continue sharing data and funding opportunities with our partners. Have a great Fourth of July weekend!