During testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Sethuraman Panchanathan emphasized the importance of rapid workforce development investments and scaling training programs to fill jobs created by investments in key industries, such as manufacturing, semiconductor research and development, and infrastructure.
As one portion of the NSF request for FY 2024, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) will help cultivate new education pathways leading to a diverse and skilled future technical workforce comprising researchers, practitioners, technicians, entrepreneurs and educators that is fully prepared to enter the STEM workforce. Experiential Learning in Emerging Industries (ExLENT), a work-based learning model, and NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) will also support business and economic growth in underserved regions through equitable research, entrepreneurship and workforce development.
In response to questions about proposed budget cuts for fiscal year (FY) 2024 (as part of their debt limit negotiations, Republicans have proposed cutting discretionary spending back to FY 2022 levels), Panchanathan said such cuts could harm NSF workforce development efforts and hamstring implementation of new initiatives.
“A reduction of 22% will preclude NSF from being able to reach the estimated 10,000 individuals [entering engineering programs] in fiscal year 2024 alone, threatening this goal of the long-term competitiveness in semiconductors and other key technologies,” he said. “Our nation needs to train 280,000 new workers in semiconductors and microelectronics over the next five years.”
You can view the full hearing at the link here.
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