Raimondo courts Gen Z for semiconductor jobs

• Part of her job now will be to prime the labor market to meet that new demand, which will be shaped by the Commerce Department's funding choices.

State of play: As it stands, the U.S. semiconductor sector could already be facing a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of workers and engineers by 2030, according to estimates from Deloitte and McKinsey.

• "What I'm trying to do is let Gen Z-ers know [that] this isn't your father or grandfather's manufacturing operation that may have existed 30, 40 years ago," Raimondo told Axios after addressing a group of college students, semiconductor sector interns and recent grads last week.
• "These are robotic-enabled, tech-enabled, incredibly clean, super-fast moving, fun operations, where … you can start your career without a college degree with a six figure job and then continue to grow.”

Driving the news: During the virtual event organized by Handshake, a jobs platform for Gen Z, she talked about 250,000 "high-paying, six figure jobs,” soon to be created from the CHIPS Act.

• "I want your generation to think about making a living making things in America," Raimondo told the group.
• "For a long time, that [hasn't been] the case."

Be smart: Semiconductor production in the U.S. began to wane in the 90s.

• The number of manufacturing jobs overall fell by nearly 6 million between 2000 and 2010, but advances in automation have helped keep manufacturing's share of real GDP roughly constant.

Zoom out: Raimondo has also traveled this year to community colleges in Portland and Austin to tour training facilities and talk to students.

• In the past, she has called on colleges and universities to triple the number of graduates in semiconductor-related fields and to partner with companies to align curriculum with industry needs so that graduates are "job-ready on Day One."
• When asked by Axios whether the department should seek to spark interest in even younger students, like those in middle school, Raimondo replied that it should — especially given her experience as Rhode Island governor in raising awareness about offshore wind industry jobs with middle schoolers.

The intrigue: Raimondo didn’t specifically cite national security last week as a reason for Gen Z to consider a job in the chips industry, but she said she should have.

• "Being part of the semiconductor industry is a way to serve the country."

Go deeper

• Chip billions won't be a quick fix
• Raimondo: New funding will build two chipmaking "clusters"