I’ve written before about the most precious resource necessary to sustain America’s current high-tech manufacturing boom: a qualified workforce ready to do these new jobs. Bulking up the pipeline of tech-savvy, experienced apprentices and tradespeople will be a key factor, but increasingly, bureaucratic backlogs on critical security clearances have choked that pipeline to a trickle.
The number of people awaiting security clearance for defense-industry work has more than tripled over the past four years to almost half a million, according to the National Background Investigations Bureau. President Trump’s investment in defense equipment and other warfighting technology has created a surge in demand for workers with engineering and technical skills as well as security clearance to work on these sensitive projects.
