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SkyWater Launches Apprenticeship Program to Support Employee Career Growth and Domestic Semiconductor Workforce Development
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SkyWater Technology (NASDAQ: SKYT) has initiated an apprenticeship program at its Bloomington, Minnesota facility in partnership with the National Institute of Innovation and Technology and Hennepin Technical College. The program focuses on developing equipment maintenance technician talent, combining on-the-job training with formal education. The first cohort of employees began in January 2022. SkyWater aims to expand this initiative to its Florida facility. The program underscores the need for a skilled workforce in the growing semiconductor industry.
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Launch of an apprenticeship program to develop skilled technicians.
Collaboration with recognized educational institutions enhances workforce training.
First group of employees started training in January 2022, indicating progress.
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Program developed in partnership with National Institute of Innovation and Technology and Hennepin Technical College
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
SkyWater Technology (NASDAQ: SKYT), the trusted technology realization partner, today announced the launch of an apprenticeship program at its Bloomington, Minnesota facility, designed with a combination of on-the-job training and formal education, and based on industry and academic-approved curriculum through Hennepin Technical College. In partnership with the National Institute of Innovation and Technology(NIIT) under its Growing Apprenticeships in Nanotechnology and Semiconductors (“GAINS”) program, SkyWater created its apprenticeship program which is initially focused on developing equipment maintenance technician talent to co-create their careers.
The NIIT’s GAINS program is a key component of its comprehensive approach to developing the talent pipeline for the semiconductor industry by connecting industry, talent and education to ensure skilled workers for the electronics manufacturing industry. By attracting students and job seekers to careers in semiconductor manufacturing, the NIIT helps to ensure the skilled workforce required to sustain and grow the electronics manufacturing industry.
The first group of existing SkyWater employees started a two-year program in January 2022. SkyWater employs over 600 people with most of the jobs in Minnesota. The company, which has its headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota and an advanced packaging facility in Kissimmee, Florida, continues to experience significant growth due to increased industry demand. SkyWater anticipates extending the equipment maintenance technician apprenticeship program to its Florida facility.
“There has never been a more important time to ensure a skilled workforce domestically,” said Thomas Sonderman, SkyWater president and CEO. “The apprenticeship program will be key to co-creating our employees’ careers and meeting the growing needs of the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Equipment maintenance technicians are critical to our success — their efforts are essential to maintaining our continuous production schedules while minimizing safety risks and constantly enhancing the effectiveness of our valuable manufacturing equipment.”
Designed to be scaled to meet industry demand for technicians, SkyWater’s apprenticeship program leverages the NIIT’s Unified Competency Model (UCM) which was formed with industry input as a new skills standard and is endorsed by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (USDOL-ETA).
“Registered apprenticeships are key to workforce development by providing employees with instruction and on-the-job training to meet the needs of their companies,” said Leslie Philmon, senior field representative, Apprenticeship Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. “We are pleased that SkyWater has registered their program with the Labor Department and we are excited for the many apprentices who are advancing their skills and contributing to the growth of the semiconductor industry here in Minnesota.”
Hennepin Technical College will offer the apprenticeship program courses, and all program tuition and fees will be paid directly by SkyWater. The course curriculum supports the development of skills required by the electronics industry and offers several industry certifications.
“We are excited to be SkyWater’s partner in this program which is key to assuring a pipeline of highly skilled workers in a time when attracting them is difficult due to growing industry demand,” said Jeff Thorstad, instructor at Hennepin Technical College. “Hennepin Tech’s participation in the NIIT Competency Alignment Program has ensured our courses are aligned with industry requirements. Participants in the program receive college credits which not only advance their careers but strengthen the semiconductor industry workforce as well.”
Along with the NIIT and Hennepin Technical College, SkyWater developed the apprenticeship program with assistance from various organizations including MACNY (the Manufacturers Association of Central New York) and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. For more information on SkyWater’s apprenticeship program, please contact Sara Johnson, director of talent acquisition at sara.johnson@skywatertechnology.com.
About SkyWater Technology
SkyWater (NASDAQ: SKYT) is a U.S.-owned semiconductor manufacturer and a DOD-accredited Trusted supplier. SkyWater’s Technology as a ServiceSM model streamlines the path to production for customers with development services, volume production and advanced packaging solutions in its world-class U.S. facilities. This pioneering model enables innovators to co-create the next wave of technology with diverse categories including mixed-signal CMOS, read-out ICs, rad-hard, power discretes, MEMS, superconducting ICs, photonics, carbon nanotubes and interposers. SkyWater serves growing markets including aerospace & defense, automotive, biomedical, cloud & computing, consumer, industrial and IoT. For more information, visit: www.skywatertechnology.com.
SkyWater Technology Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that are based on the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events, rather than past events and outcomes, and such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Key factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to be different than expected or anticipated include, but are not limited to factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the prospectus the Company filed with the SEC on April 22, 2021, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 3, 2021 and in other documents that the Company files with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
