Further efforts needed to solve human resources shortage for semiconductor industry: Experts

Hanoi – As Vietnam is calling for investment in the semiconductor industry, experts held that the country should work harder to make a breakthrough in human resources development serving the growth of the industry.

Data from the national science and technology portal showed that as of the end of 2023, Vietnam had recorded more than 5,500 chip design engineers. Meanwhile, the country needs 5,000-10,000 engineers each year, but its human resources supply capacity is only less than 20 per cent.

Semiconductor products have been defined by the Government as one of the nine national products in the country’s efforts to actively engage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

With an investment increase seen in the semiconductor industry recently, Vietnam can become a partner of many big countries in the field.

A report by Technavio predicted that the Vietnamese semiconductor market may expand about 6.5 per cent each year in the 2021-2025 period. However, human resources shortage has been the greatest challenge of the industry.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), currently, Vietnam has 35 tertiary training establishments capable of providing semiconductor training programmes, but the number of experienced ones is few.

MoET Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son said that human resources shortage is one of the major factors making investors hesitate to pour their money into Vietnam.

He stressed that along with support from the State, training facilities should actively cooperate with businesses and investors in human resources training, developing the labour market and attracting more investment.

Son said that the MoET is building an action plan to speedy increase the quality and quantity of human resources in the field of semiconductor, especially IC design engineers.

The most important task is to promote the capacity of training facilities, especially the quality of lecturers and infrastructure system, he underlined.

He also stressed the need to attract students to the area of semiconductor, and reaching cooperation agreements between tertiary training facilities with businesses and localities in the field.

Some potential investors are exploring investment chances in central Da Nang city, and its Hi-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority (DHPIZA) hopes that 50 per cent of those FDI businesses will invest in the local semiconductor industry this year.

Vietnam will become a reliable partner and a crucial link in the global semiconductor value chain in the foreseeable future, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung told Vietnam News Agency in a recent interview.