Congress has committed billions of dollars to expand America’s domestic advanced manufacturing capacity in semiconductors and related technologies. To speed up the reshoring process, President Trump established the office of Investment Accelerator in the Commerce Department to streamline government rules on investment, permitting, and site selection that historically have caused inordinate construction delays.
The Investment Accelerator is a major step in rebuilding our nation’s technological manufacturing infrastructure. Equally critical is a skilled workforce to build trusted tech supply chains.
The semiconductor industry worries that there won’t be enough workers to fill the supply chains. Shari Liss, Vice President, Global Workforce Development & Initiatives, has said “my biggest fear is investing in all this infrastructure and not having the people to work there.” The fear appears warranted. A 2022 McKinsey & Company report cited a projected shortfall of 300,000 engineers and 90,000 skilled technicians by 2030.
To fill those jobs, workers need to know where to find them. Federal, state, and local governments can help promote such opportunities through various job centers and agency websites. But an essential piece of the puzzle are private-sector staffing firms that know how to find, place, and manage the talent supply chains manufacturers need.
The staffing industry is uniquely qualified to meet this challenge. For more than eighty years, staffing firms have been the nation’s premier experts in recruiting, screening, and onboarding trusted talent, both temporary and permanent, in every job category.
The last point is important because in addition to engineers and other STEM occupations, the construction and operation of advanced chip manufacturing plants requires large numbers of workers in ancillary and support roles, including managerial, administrative, human resources, legal, finance and accounting, health care, and industrial.
The staffing industry has a proven track record of helping businesses quickly gain access to qualified talent. During the COVID-19 crisis, companies turned to staffing firms to supply workers to produce and deliver food, drugs, and other necessities, and nurses to augment overstressed hospital and nursing home staffs. The American Staffing Association partnered with retailers to fill openings for store clerks, warehouse workers, and forklift drivers at essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies.
The Investment Accelerator will transform our technological infrastructure and create hundreds of thousands of great new jobs. Staffing firms’ demonstrated expertise in finding trusted talent makes them an essential partner in achieving President Trump’s goal of bringing those jobs back home.
Matt Vuckov is the founder and CEO of TalentCraft, a strategic staffing partner based in the Chicagoland area, specializing in talent solutions for industries including healthcare, technology, government policy, and life sciences and biotech. With a strong focus on reshoring and semiconductor innovation, TalentCraft connects organizations with top talent to drive digital transformation and workforce development.
In addition to leading TalentCraft, Matthew serves as Chair of the Engineering, IT, and Scientific Section Council and leads the ASA Reshoring Task Force, advocating for workforce strategies to support critical manufacturing and technology sectors in the U.S.
Passionate about the future of work, Matthew leverages strategic partnerships with organizations like Purdue University’s Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy to help companies scale through skilled talent that fuels business growth and national impact.
