Insider Brief
- U.S. government officials warned at a House Science Committee hearing that workforce shortages in quantum information science could limit national competitiveness as Congress considers reauthorizing the lapsed National Quantum Initiative.
- Lawmakers and agency leaders said federal investments have expanded quantum education and research since 2018, but training pipelines are still not producing enough workers to meet growing industry and government demand.
- Witnesses pointed to data from the Quantum Economic Development Consortium showing that quantum progress depends on a broad workforce — including engineers and technicians — and emphasized the need for expanded training and industry partnerships.
U.S. officials warned lawmakers that the nation’s supply of quantum-trained workers is falling behind demand as Congress considers reviving a federal program meant to coordinate and accelerate quantum research and development.
That concern surfaced repeatedly during a Thursday hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, where government witnesses were asked to weigh in on the pending reauthorization of the National Quantum Initiative, a law that expired in September 2023 and has yet to be renewed. The hearing was intended to inform the House’s work on a bipartisan reauthorization, according to lawmakers and witnesses, as reported by FedScoop.
“We are in a workforce shortage — plain and simple,” James Kushmerick, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Physical Measurement Laboratory, told the committee, as reported by FedScoop, adding, “We do not have enough domestic or even international talent to fill all the jobs. So at NIST, we look to hire … where we can. We look across the whole country, and we also welcome in foreign guest researchers when needed to help support this effort.”
Committee Chair Brian Babin, R-Texas, said in his opening remarks that he and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., are actively working on legislation to reauthorize the initiative. Their efforts follow the release earlier this month of a proposed reauthorization bill from a bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers, a sign of renewed momentum after more than a year of lapse.
During the hearing, Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Ore., pressed panelists on what their agencies are doing to recruit and retain quantum talent nationwide. While witnesses largely avoided specific policy prescriptions for the reauthorization, they pointed to workforce constraints as a growing challenge that could limit U.S. competitiveness in quantum technologies.
Saul Gonzalez, deputy directorate head at the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, said the agency has made substantial progress since the National Quantum Initiative was first enacted in 2018. He told lawmakers that NSF-supported efforts have nearly doubled the number of students and faculty working in quantum information science. Even so, he added that the supply of talent is not keeping up with industry’s demand.
That mismatch between training pipelines and market needs has become more visible as private-sector investment in quantum computing, sensing and communications has grown, while federal agencies continue to fund long-term research, FedScoop reports. Quantum information science refers to the use of quantum physics — the behavior of matter and energy at very small scales — to process information in ways that are not possible with today’s classical computers.
Training is Critical
Tanner Crowder, the quantum information science lead in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, said training and workforce development are central to narrowing that gap. DOE oversees a network of national laboratories and research centers that play a key role in advancing quantum research and preparing scientists and engineers for industry and government roles.
“We, bar none, just need to train more people across the talent spectrum — senior scientists, technicians, junior scientists — and make sure that we are able to place these people in good jobs once they actually get trained,” Crowder told the committee, according to FedScoop.
The workforce challenge comes amid mixed signals in the global quantum jobs market. Witnesses pointed to recent data from the federally backed Quantum Economic Development Consortium, which suggests that quantum job postings in North America and Europe declined slightly over the past year, while other regions saw growth over the same period. The data has raised concerns that the U.S. and its allies could lose ground if talent shortages persist.
Kushmerick said the consortium’s work has helped clarify the nature of the workforce problem. Quantum progress is not driven solely by physicists with advanced degrees, it also includes engineers, technicians and people at other levels as well.
“I really think we need a whole-of-government effort to kind of increase the pipeline,” Kushmerick added.
The Quantum Economic Development Consortium was established under the original National Quantum Initiative to bring together companies, universities and other stakeholders. In addition to tracking workforce trends, it has surveyed members on strategies to close skills gaps, including industry-aligned training programs and clearer career pathways for non-Ph.D. roles.
Babin said that quantum research centers supported by NSF and DOE under the initiative “have made significant strides in developing educational programs, training initiatives and industry partnerships to help meet workforce needs.”
Babin added that federal support was necessary to continue these efforts.
