NIIT is working with the U.S. Department of Labor and Purdue University on getting service members and their families transitioned into the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries

HANOVER, Md., Nov. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — As part of its ongoing mission, the National Institute for Innovation and Technology (NIIT), the leader in developing the U.S. semiconductor talent pipeline and U.S. Department of labor lead in expanding Registered Apprenticeships (RAs) throughout the semiconductor and nanotechnology supply chains, has been named as an approved partner for the U.S Department of Labor’s Employment Navigator and Partnership Program (ENPP).

The ENPP provides career assistance to transitioning service members and their families at select military installations around the world. As an ENPP partner, NIIT—through its VetConnect program—has made its National Talent Hub resource available to all of those who have served and their family members at no cost. The National Talent Hub is a state-of-the-art portal that uses data analytics to connect jobseekers and those looking to improve skills in technical, STEM-based jobs to employers and training programs that target their special needs and provides skills assessment and career mapping services.

The National Talent Hub will help returning veterans to leverage the valuable skills they have acquired during their military service, which they will input into the hub using a customized profile to connect with employers in critical industry sectors like semiconductor manufacturing for employment, RAs, or other training opportunities.

“Our National Talent Hub is just one of the many ways we are executing on our national strategy to build the U.S. talent pipeline in semiconductor manufacturing and other key industries, while also helping to support those who have served in finding high-quality employment opportunities. This partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor’s ENPP program demonstrates our continued commitment to growing the talent pipeline and supporting underrepresented and underserved populations,” said Mike Russo, President & CEO of NIIT.

“Transition can be challenging, and the support of NIIT for our transitioning service members, and their spouses, makes it easier for them to chart their new course,” said James Rodriguez, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Management for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Services (VETS).

In addition to NIIT’s work with the ENPP, the organization is also working with Purdue University in support of their Veterans Inclusion and Competency Toward Semiconductors (VICTORS) program. The VICTORS program, started by Dr. Muhammad Mustafa Hussain, an engineering professor of the university, is training veterans for jobs in the semiconductor industry using a combination of online learning, virtual reality, and real-life training in a mobile semiconductor chip fabrication cleanroom.

Hussain shares his vision, “U.S. veterans are highly professional individuals who work in a team on well-defined missions. Semiconductor manufacturing ecosystems operate with the same work ethics. Therefore, VICTORS is designed to assist our veterans to transition to a sustainable career with continuous growth: microelectronics aka the semiconductor industry.”

As part of NIIT’s National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) outreach efforts, Hussain and program participant Zach Pitt were interviewed about the VICTORS program. Watch the full conversation here.

“We are grateful to institutions like Purdue that are at the cutting edge of new workforce development efforts to address the skills gap and talent shortage impacting industries that are critical to our nation’s national security and global competitiveness, like semiconductor manufacturing,” said Russo.

For more information about NIIT’s National Talent Hub, visit niit.org/the-national-talent-hub-niit.

For more information about Purdue University’s VICTORS program, contact Hussain at [email protected].

About the National Institute for Innovation and Technology (NIIT)

The National Institute for Innovation and Technology (NIIT) is a 501(c)(3) with a mission to identify roadblocks to innovation in strategic industry sectors – those important to the nation’s security and global competitiveness – and ensure they are eliminated. Talent pipeline development is the major focus of NIIT, and through comprehensive industry engagement, NIIT is leading the deployment of a national strategy and infrastructure to broaden and build the talent pipeline for the semiconductor industry and strategic industry sectors. Through its National Talent Pipeline Development Initiative, Center for Skills Based Learning, and the support of the federal government, NIIT has developed a comprehensive, nationally integrated approach that includes the alignment of programs K-12 through higher education and adult and veteran training, infrastructure to attract a broader population and improve access and connections to career and needed training, and the ability to scale to support the nation. For more information, visit www.niit.org.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top 4 in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 12 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue Computes, and Purdue Online Learning 2.0 at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

SOURCE National Institute for Innovation and Technology