An Intel-led $3.5 billion initiative to support investment in U.S. growth industries promises to boost IT employment for recent college graduates by at least 10,500 jobs this year. That's roughly twice the number of computer science and engineering graduates the companies supporting the Invest in America Alliance hired last year.

The two-pronged effort includes a commitment from Intel Capital and 24 venture capital firms to invest $3.5 billion in U.S.-based technology companies over the next two years. The Invest in America Alliance also includes commitments from 17 large companies to increase their hiring of recent college graduates, primarily those with computer science and engineering degrees.

Joining Intel in the hiring commitment are Accenture, Adobe Systems, Autodesk, Broadcom, CDW, Cisco Systems, Dell, eBay, EMC, GE, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Liberty Mutual Corp., Marvell Semiconductor, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

"Many more college graduates will now be able to put their education to work thanks to these 17 companies," says Richard Taylor, vice president and director of HR for Intel, noting that college graduates have been among the hardest hit by the economic downturn.

Intel officials wouldn't speculate on how many new hires would be made in Silicon Valley or the San Francisco Bay Area. But many of the companies making the hiring commitment either have headquarters or a major presence in the region.

-- Doug Bartholomew