Get your best possible start

SEMI is the major industry association for the microelectronics industry. It represents over 3,000 high-tech businesses focused on creating a broad range of electronic products that we use and depend on every day. Microelectronics are the tiny computers and silicon chips (also known as semiconductors) found in ubiquitous items like phones, watches, cars, laptops, really any piece of electronic equipment you can think of. The semiconductor is essentially the brain of the device.

One of SEMI’s goals is to help electronics manufacturers and businesses develop the next generation of talent. Demand for microelectronics is massive, which means the industry offers numerous career opportunities for young people. The key is to help a new generation of talent learn about these many and varied careers, and to put young jobseekers in touch with the resources they can use to get a meaningful start.

Why it matters

Investments in the domestic production of microelectronics have grown tremendously over the past few years, indicating that many businesses in this sector are in dire need of talent of almost every conceivable type: engineering, production, construction, distribution, business operations, and more. Every major industry sector you can think of—from tech to communications to healthcare to the military to transportation to energy to manufacturing—needs LOTS of microelectronics.

Many of these businesses also realize that today’s junior high, high school, and college students are not aware of either the high demand for new talent or the varied and interesting types of work within the industry. So they are working hard to get in front of young people and raise awareness of these jobs.To get started, check out SEMI’s career site. There you will find:

• Information about the many careers you can pursue
• Interest assessments to see whether you’re a good match for any of those careers
• Skills surveys to see what skills you need
• Educational opportunities to build your knowledge and skills
• Apprenticeships to build work experience

Who are high school students turning to for guidance?

We can all remember that time in high school when the future felt blurry and like an ever-moving target. And what was true for previous generations is now even more true for Gen Z, given the incredible amount of technological, cultural, social, and economic upheaval they’ve experienced since 2020. Further, in a world where the internet plays such a substantial role, the vast sea of information can often make decisions tougher. ‘Who do I ask for help?’ is now a question with a million answers. 

To better understand how today’s students feel about their post high school life, we surveyed Connections Academy students. Perhaps most interestingly, Gen Z, the generation with the greatest exposure to the greatest wealth of technology the world has ever seen, is still completely reliant on their parents for guidance about the future. And for all the current popularity of AI, it plays virtually no role in how students are making decisions. 

For instance, when it comes to making choices about college, 85% of the students we asked said that they rely primarily on mom and dad. The next closest answer percentage-wise was ‘other family members’ at 46%. Only 25% said that they would turn to social media. 

Of course, the internet still plays a role: 42% of students said they use online sources and other forms of online education for help making college choices. But familial relationships had the clear priority, and digital or more remote sources were only a secondary source.

You don’t need a crystal ball to know that high school students entering the workforce over the next few years are facing an uphill battle. They’re living through constant upheaval and change—change driven by technology, by generational turnover, and by a heaving sea of economic, political, and cultural forces that can feel, even to seasoned adults, like a perfect storm. Add to that mix the internet, and everything is amplified by ten—the good, the bad, and the confusing. Students are now faced with more choices than ever, along with a million competing voices. It’s enough to give anyone decision fatigue. Or downright paralysis.

Last year, we asked over 1,000 HR leaders and hiring managers what types of jobs are hardest to fill and 37% said that they struggle most with hiring those who are just getting started in the labor market. To put that in perspective, according to these business leaders, entry level talent is actually harder for them to find than executive level talent.

When it comes to finding your dream job or getting a job at your ideal company, what do you wish you knew?

That’s the question we asked students in a survey conducted in August 2023. The overwhelming need-to-know item wasn’t college advice or career options, but skills. What skills should I develop? What skills are employers looking for? What abilities, knowledge, and experience do businesses want to hire?

According to another study conducted by Pearson, the top five skills desired by businesses are human skills (aka soft skills)—relational skills that help us forge connections with colleagues and customers. LinkedIn reported similar findings in their 2024 Most In-Demand Skills list, where the majority of the top 10 skills of today are human skills.

Employees with strong human skills tend to understand others’ needs and problems, communicate excellently, adapt and innovate well, and make good team players. So it is no wonder businesses want to hire people with such strengths.

What about hard skills? Aren’t they still important? While hard (or technical) skills remain vital, it is classic skills such as communication, leadership, and collaboration that form the necessary foundation for technical skills to rest upon. If a software developer can write code in five languages but can’t communicate well with management or collaborate with others, they are of considerably less value to their company. And in recent times, it appears that human skills are the commodity in short supply. Thus the demand is skyrocketing.

In this article, we will look at the top five desired skills and discuss how students and jobseekers can develop them early in the game—before they go off to college or land a “real” job, or even before they leave the house. We will also look at some of the fastest-growing, high-demand technical skills that can be added on top of the foundation of human skills.

The Partnership

Certiport is a global leader in entry level training and certification courses geared towards in-demand tech skills that businesses are looking for. Since 1997 Certiport has developed both a wide array of curriculum as well as industry-recognized certifications and now administers millions of exams each year in countries around the world.

Their courses include training in software like the Microsoft Office suite, Adobe, and Apple’s Swift programming language. With Certiport, high school students gain sought-after skills in project management, accounting, IT, business, and more that will help them connect to whatever opportunities they’d like to pursue.

In addition to training, Certiport hosts global competitions that offer a unique, gamified approach to career learning. In these competitions students can win scholarships and prizes, and gain incredible proficiency in Microsoft and Adobe. 

The Partnership

Pearson has partnered with Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) in order to prepare students to become leaders in whatever career path they choose. Through this partnership, students as early as middle school will gain the experience, mindset, and skills they need in order to thrive as community-minded business leaders in a global society.

About FBLA

Developed in 1937, FBLA believes in more than simple career success. FBLA believes that every person should prepare for a meaningful career  and to go about that work in a manner that helps to lift up their own families, the people around them, and society as a whole.Developed in 1937, FBLA believes in more than simple career success. FBLA believes that every person should prepare for a meaningful career  and to go about that work in a manner that helps to lift up their own families, the people around them, and society as a whole.

How this partnership helps you

It’s not too early to start thinking about how to be a leader in whatever field (or fields) you choose to pursue. Want to become the kind of person that your coworkers or employees are inspired to imitate?

The Pearson-FBLA partnership will help you learn what you need to know. Through FBLA’s programs, you will:

• Develop competent business leadership
• Understand American business enterprise
• Develop projects that improve home, business, and community
• Develop your character
• Learn efficient money-management
• Transition smoothly from school to work with FBLA’s help

Earlier this year, Pearson and its Connections Academy partnered with HOSA-Future Health Professionals, a global student-led organization that has promoted career opportunities in the health industry since its inception in 1976. With this new partnership between Pearson and HOSA, students can jumpstart their healthcare careers early in the game.HOSA helps high school students gain soft and technical skills they need to prepare for healthcare jobs while participating in community service and leadership opportunities. Some of the soft skills that HOSA students develop include leadership, communication, and teamwork, which are among the top five skills most requested by employers. Students also get hands-on experience in the healthcare industry and meet like-minded students from around the world. 

The Partnership

Path to Pro is an initiative created by Home Depot and its Home Depot Pro contractors as a way to connect students interested in trade work to employers in the construction industry, an industry with a projected 640,000 openings each year. The program offers free, online training in a number of skills and then puts trained talent in front of professionals in its network.

It does this through several important steps: