Heels & Tech Partnership With UC Santa Cruz Opens Doors For Immigrants In Semiconductor Design

Heels & Tech, an e-learning platform aimed to empower women with technical education and upskilling, has teamed up with the University of California, Santa Cruz, with an initiative for immigrants.

Heels & Tech

The platform aims to close the gender gap between women and tech, helping women to secure flexible paid work.

They offer training and mentorship on in-demand tech roles by connecting women with industry professionals.

Describing herself as a generalist, Nigerian founder Bisola Alabi started Heels & Tech to cater to women like her, moms who wanted to upskill and return to work.

However, she soon realized that other women, bored with their current jobs, also needed her platform.

The University Of California Partnership

The partnership is aimed at helping individuals, immigrants, in particular, to learn how to design semiconductors, aligning with the CHIPS for America initiative.

The initiative aims to enable the US to make more of its crucial tech parts instead of relying on other countries.

The parts needed, called semiconductors, are used in everyday machines and gadgets from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands.

Currently, America only produces 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, and 75% of the world’s production is dependent on East Asia.

“In the US, the CHIP industry is emerging as a significant player, with President Biden allocating a substantial $50 billion to bolster this initiative,” Alibi wrote on LinkedIn.

“We encourage women, especially immigrants, to seize this promising opportunity.”

The initiative will ensure a steady supply of semiconductors and create jobs, especially for immigrants or those planning to relocate, according to Heels & Tech.

The course offers hands-on experience in hardware specification, logic design, verification, synthesis, physical implementation, circuit design, and integrated circuit testing.

“For immigrants planning to relocate to the US, this program provides a golden opportunity. It positions them to tap into the thriving job market,” Heels & Tech said.