Joint initiative strengthens federal workforce technical assistance to foreign multinational businesses in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan starting or expanding U.S. operations

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a market expansion of SelectTalentUSA, a joint initiative across the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Education providing technical assistance to foreign businesses to deliver recruitment and training programs for their U.S. workforce. Now SelectTalentUSA will include clients from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, to better serve the need of their semiconductor and supply chain firms and other companies seeking to establish or expand U.S. operations.

Launched in May 2023, SelectTalentUSA was first piloted in Austria, German, Liechtenstein, and Swiss markets, with the recent addition of, and with a focus on Registered Apprenticeships to increase cooperation and information exchange.

SelectTalentUSA helps foreign investor companies build local and state partnerships, adapt their talent-development approaches to the United States, and harness America’s comparative advantage – its diverse and skilled workforce. The Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Education along with over 20 other departments comprise the SelectUSA-led Interagency Investment Working Group (IIWG) to increase coordination and provide guidance and information related to specific and broad-reaching issues that affect business investment decisions.

SelectTalentUSA will leverage the IIWG to connect foreign investors to the resources and experts to establish quality training, education, and programs. During the pilot year, SelectUSA and the Departments of Labor and Education conducted outreach to companies focusing on Registered Apprenticeships (RA) with several developing programs. This outreach has resulted in companies either signing, or close to signing, RA standards with the Department of Labor to start new U.S. training programs.

SelectTalentUSA supports efforts to promote foreign direct investment that creates good-paying jobs in America. These investments are essential to the Biden-Harris Administration’s work in creating an equitable economy for workers and families and revitalizing communities that have been overlooked or left behind. This initiative also provides information and connections to foreign investors to help them successfully navigate the American workforce. The program’s expansion allows for more investor companies in varying markets to access the American workforce, create a skilled, talent pipeline, and create more quality job opportunities.  It also increases SelectUSA’s support for the goals of the CHIPS for America program, a suite of programs to strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing.

About SelectUSA

Housed within the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, SelectUSA promotes and facilitates business investment into the United States by coordinating related federal government agencies to serve as a single point of contact for investors and raises awareness of the critical role that economic development plays in the U.S. economy. SelectUSA assists U.S. economic development organizations to compete globally for investment by providing information, a platform for international marketing, and high-level advocacy. SelectUSA also helps foreign companies find the information they need to make decisions, connect to the right people at the local level, navigate the federal regulatory system, and find solutions to issues related to the federal government. For more information, visit www.trade.gov/selectusa.