Each Veterans Day, U.S. citizens pause to recognize the service, sacrifice, and leadership of the millions of Americans who have worn our nation’s military uniforms. At the SEMI Foundation, we believe honoring that service also means creating meaningful opportunities for veterans, transitioning service members, and military families to bring their skills and experience into the industries shaping our future.
Semiconductor employers need skilled talent. At the same time, people leaving military service bring technical aptitude, leadership, attention to detail, teamwork, adaptability, and a mission-focused approach that can translate exceptionally well to this industry. Yet one challenge continues to stand between military talent and semiconductor employers: translation.
A military role rarely has the same title as a semiconductor position. A veteran may have years of experience maintaining sophisticated equipment, troubleshooting complex systems, leading teams, working with electronics, managing logistics, or operating in highly controlled environments without realizing those capabilities align with jobs throughout the semiconductor ecosystem.
This Veterans Day, SEMI VetWorks is helping make that connection clearer.
A New VetWorks Resource for Employers
The SEMI Foundation is releasing an updated VetWorks guide designed to help employers better attract, understand, hire, and retain military-connected talent. The guide builds on VetWorks' longstanding employer resources with new military-to-semiconductor career crosswalks, training recommendations, career pathway examples, and practical guidance for recruiters and hiring managers.
A centerpiece is a set of 50 military-to-semiconductor career crosswalks developed to connect military careers with potential semiconductor roles. The resource identifies likely skill gaps and offers suggested training pathways, ranging from relatively light upskilling through more advanced technical preparation.
Melinda Gomez with Stefanie Watson and Sierra Schafer of Hiring Our Heroes at Veteran Advisory Council Meetings in Seattle, WA
The goal is not to suggest that every military occupation maps perfectly to a single civilian position. Instead, it is to give employers a better starting point for recognizing transferable experience and looking beyond job titles.
Employers can access VetWorks resources through SEMI's VetWorks toolkit.
Learn From the Organizations Already Doing the Work
Resources matter, but partnerships are just as important.
On November 4, 2026, the SEMI Foundation convened employers and veteran-serving partners for a virtual VetWorks gathering focused on military talent and employer engagement. The program featured partner spotlights from VetSTEP, Hiring Our Heroes, Heroes MAKE America, and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), followed by a discussion of how employers can work with these organizations to strengthen military recruiting efforts.
These partnerships are an important reminder that semiconductor companies do not have to build military recruitment programs alone. VetWorks brings together employers with government, education, and veteran service organizations to help create stronger connections between military communities and semiconductor careers.
View the VetWorks Partner Convening recording on Semi Foundation YouTube.
Turn Connections Into Careers With ChipPath
Ultimately, awareness and translation have to lead to opportunity.
ChipPath Talent Marketplace signup page
That is where ChipPath, the SEMI Foundation's industry-wide talent marketplace, comes in. ChipPath connects talent with semiconductor employers and career opportunities, with over 160,000 job openings sourced from 1,200 U.S. SEMI member companies. And employers now have another way to participate.
ChipPath Employer Registration and the Employer Dashboard are Now Live
Companies can register for an employer account, manage roles automatically sourced from their career pages, refine the skills associated with openings, and improve how positions are presented and matched to candidates.
On this Veterans Day, we invite the semiconductor industry to move from appreciation to opportunity by taking action:
- Register for an employer account on ChipPath.
- Download the VetWorks guide.
- Learn from organizations already serving the military community.
- Give recruiters and hiring managers the tools to recognize transferable skills.
- Register your company on ChipPath.
- And, most importantly, take another look at the veterans and transitioning service members whose experience may be exactly what your organization needs.
Their military title may not look like your job title, but their skills just might.
Melinda Gomez is Senior Manager, Workforce Engagement & Military Initiatives, SEMI Foundation.
