The latest economic sector to join the green revolution, promising sustainable growth and job prospects, is the semiconductor industry, according to a report by McKinsey & Company.
The global management consulting firm suggested that the industry is poised for enormous economic expansion in the next 2-3 years, potentially creating nearly 50,000 jobs.
“Job openings in the semiconductor industry are rising in number and are requiring more time to fill,” McKinsey noted.
In fact, according to its statistics, semiconductor job postings over the last five years are nearly six times higher than they were in the previous period.
“In 2022, the active status of technician job postings rose to 28 days—the peak level reached prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” McKinsey added.
Record-High Investment
The relatively new expansion of semiconductor manufacturing hasn’t come out of nowhere. According to McKinsey, it’s largely the product of “record-high investment,” driven in part by legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“Fueled by record-high investment from semiconductor players and once-in-a-generation federal backing, semiconductor manufacturing capacity is poised for a massive expansion in the United States,” the firm noted.
It pointed out that an official said one of the government’s goals is to “propel the United States to produce 20% of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by 2030.”
“All of this investment is expected to create up to 48,000 jobs at fabrication plants (fabs), some of which are slated to begin operating in the next two to three years,” McKinsey said.
Does Manufacturing Count as a Green Job?
The world is still adjusting to the idea of green jobs and the many different forms they can take. Many still assume green jobs are limited to solar panel technicians, wind turbine operators, and traditional farmers.
However, green jobs encompass much more than that. They span a wide variety of industries related to sustainability in many different ways.
Traditional manufacturing, with its image of large industrial plants churning out harmful emissions, doesn’t exactly conjure up the idea of clean energy.
But, times are indeed changing. Green manufacturing, which brings the age-old industry into the modern, more sustainable age, is on a sharp rise.
And, yes, semiconductor manufacturing is part of that.
Semiconductors themselves are important components of many green technologies, including the solar panel and wind turbine “poster children” of the green economy. And someone needs to fill the jobs that are responsible for making those components.
Discover the latest green job opportunities in the USA and UK at EcoCareers.