Seeking to bolster the semiconductor industry workforce in the U.S. by addressing gaps in child care needs, the SEMI Foundation and Policy Equity Group today announced a collaboration to help companies comply with child care requirements under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation have agreed to fund the efforts as part of the larger Investing in America Child Care Partnership that leverages federal investments to shift policies and engagement around quality, accessible, and affordable child care.
The SEMI Foundation and Policy Equity Group are seeking to work with early childhood education leaders in Arizona, Ohio, and Michigan to strengthen local child care systems, support employers in creating child care benefits that meet employee needs, and increase access to high-quality, affordable child care in communities that house America’s growing semiconductor workforce.
“Quality child care is critical to the current and future workforce of the semiconductor industry and to ultimately narrowing our talent gap,” said Shari Liss, Executive Director of the SEMI Foundation. “The SEMI Foundation is honored to collaborate with Policy Equity Group and to be supported by the Kellogg and Packard Foundations to work toward systemic changes in child care, build community-based solutions, and conduct extensive industry outreach to potential workers who require quality child care.”
“For quite some time, the early childhood field has highlighted child care as essential infrastructure that supports worker productivity and economic growth,” said Jeffrey Capizzano, President of the Policy Equity Group. “We are fortunate to work with the SEMI Foundation and our philanthropic partners to demonstrate how the business community can contribute to expanding child care capacity and quality in their communities.”
The funding and collaboration will involve activities including:
- Landscape analyses to assess the current state of the semiconductor workforce and the local early child care and education system
- Targeted outreach programs based on the landscape analysis to connect women and underrepresented minorities to the semiconductor workforce, while leveraging child care access as a critical support and attraction point
- Child care plans that meet CHIPS Act requirements and address the needs of semiconductor companies, with the goal of improving both the sustainability and capacity of local child care systems
- Resources and training materials to help employers advocate for child care in their states and provide support for their employees to identify and access affordable, high-quality child care options
- Documentation of the lessons learned that can inform replication and scaling across other communities, with a concerted focus on how a company’s child care strategy can be supportive of supply-building across a community’s early childhood ecosystem