Arm, the UK-founded semiconductor company, is launching a new global initiative – the Semiconductor Education Alliance – to address the skills shortage affecting the global semiconductor supply chain.

While the semiconductor‘s strategic importance across the globe has been magnified by both the increasing reliance on technology and world-wide supply chain shortages, Arm is attempting to address another aspect affecting the growth of the industry.

A gap of skilled workers has become a significant barrier to progress, even as “billions of dollars of investment” in every facet of the industry has been unlocked by the technologies’ rejuvenated recognition, according to Gary Campbell, EVP central engineering at Arm.

The new global initiative is in partnership with Arduino, Cadence, Cornell University, the Semiconductor Research Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys, Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, the All-India Council for Technical Education, and the University of Southampton.

The Alliance aims to bring industry and academia together to find talent and upskill the current workforce by creating “new accelerated educational pathways,” which aim to aid the creation and support of future talent pools.

Aiming to create new and strengthen existing partnerships and workstreams, the Alliance says it will deliver geographically-specific frameworks to address industry needs.

Arm says the Alliance will function as a “federated and open model through a variety of forums” allowing for a free-flow sharing of ideas from community members, educational professionals, and partners in the alliance.

The company says this will be a continuation of current initiatives already under way, including a global SoC design platform for academia with access to semiconductor fabrication technologies.

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Key to the Semiconductor Education Alliance is diversity, according to Campbell. The Alliance plans on supporting multiple avenues to the industry, with goals of supporting internships, apprenticeships, co-op placements, and distance learning opportunities to learners.

Campbell noted that the industry is currently “at a tipping point when it comes to the skills gap, and more cohesive, industry-wide action is required to truly have an impact.”

“The importance of investing in skills and education is something Arm has always recognized, and our vast computing footprint and global ecosystem means we have a unique and far-reaching point of view on the skills needed as the industry evolves,” Campbell wrote in the announcement of the Alliance.

“The Semiconductor Education Alliance aims to better align the industry around common goals, shared resources, and communities of best practice to tackle the skills gap that threatens progress today.”

The Alliance already has a plethora of industry players involved, but hopes to gain more. Current supporters include: Arduino, Anglia Ruskin University, Cadence, Cornell University, IIT Jodhpur, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys, Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, the All-India Council for Technical Education, the Semiconductor Research Corporation, the Semiconductor Industry Alliance, the University of Southampton, UK Electronics Skills Foundation and Universitat Politècnica de València.