Contemporary industrial policy in the United States positions ‘upskilling’ as an essential link between substantial federal investment and the creation of skilled, high-quality jobs. Yet historical evidence raises questions about whether ‘upskilling’ reliably translates federal investments into stable, high-quality employment. Drawing on archival records, policy documents, and preliminary fieldwork, this article examines that claim through paired historical and contemporary case studies of workforce development programmes in the semiconductor industry. We begin by analysing the ‘skills gap’ narrative, exploring how this rhetorical construct evolved into a seemingly incontestable bipartisan policy consensus. An examination of historical records, specifically the internal archives of Texas Instruments, a leading semiconductor firm, indicates that firm-designed training programmes frequently shifted costs and risks from employers to taxpayers, producing minimal durable gains in wages, job security, or workforce safety. The final section examines a contemporary case in Ohio, where Intel’s planned ‘mega-fabs’ have catalysed statewide training initiatives at 84 technical schools, colleges, and universities. Without guarantees of high-quality jobs and corporate accountability, historical precedent suggests contemporary workforce development initiatives risk serving corporate interests over broad-based growth and working class interest. By historicising ‘up-skilling’, this article offers a critical analysis of workforce development policies linked to industrial strategies. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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