As we enter the final quarter of 2024, IPC is proud to reflect on a year of significant progress and strategic advancement in our government grants and funding initiatives. Since the program’s launch in July 2023, we’ve explored major funding opportunities, forged key partnerships across the electronics sector, and laid a strong foundation for long-term success. Our efforts this past year are setting the stage for impactful results and future growth.
Congressional staff continue to work behind the scenes in preparation for the post-election final legislative push of 2024.
IPC is closely monitoring the global sustainability policy landscape and setting policy priorities in close dialogue with the electronics industry.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has officially designated IPC an apprenticeship ambassador. This prestigious recognition underscores our commitment to fostering and expanding registered apprenticeship programs across the United States, contributing to a more robust and more diverse workforce.
This week, Kate Koger, IPC's public affairs coordinator, had the exciting opportunity to visit Detex's New Braunfels, Texas plant for a tour with two staffers from Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) office: Andi Dooley, regional director, and Jacob Smith, policy advisor for commerce, science, and technology. What made this visit even more special was how it specifically highlighted IPC’s apprenticeship program and how Detex is implementing it to address workforce challenges.
IPC just released another video in its series of short explainers supporting its chips-related advocacy campaign – this one focuses on the need to take a complete “silicon to systems” approach to investing in Europe’s electronics industry.
Recently, John Mitchell, IPC’s President and CEO, asked executives Greg Maxwell, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Tom Edman, TTM Technologies, about how they prioritize sustainability in their companies.
Today, IPC released a new offering in its series of short “explainer videos” – this one tackles the critical labor shortage faced by the electronics manufacturing industry. The United States is expected to have an unprecedented 2.1 million unfilled jobs in manufacturing by 2031. More than two-thirds of IPC’s U.S. members report that an inability to find and retain skilled workers is limiting their growth and competitiveness.
In a time that feels more politically divided than ever, there are still policies that Americans generally agree on—and expanding workplace apprenticeships is one of them. Last week’s commemoration of National Apprenticeship Week gave us the opportunity to take a deeper dive into why apprenticeships have such bipartisan appeal and the important role they can play in supporting the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry.
Two of Europe’s top standard-setting bodies, CEN and CENELEC, are organising an extended stakeholder dialogue in 2025, through a series of workshops, on the Digital Product Passports (DPPs) for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).