Brian Jeffrey
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is creating a plan to cultivate human resources for the semiconductor sector by 2030, aiming to have 50,000 engineers and bachelor’s degree holders proficient in all aspects of the semiconductor value chain.
Youth in developed nations show little interest in semiconductor job prospects for various reasons, while existing industry workers are looking to exit.
The semiconductor job market faces a significant shortage of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates to replace experienced workers.
Alongside India, Vietnam is seen as a promising country for exporting technical talents.
Currently, Vietnam has approximately 5,000 engineers capable of working in chip design, falling short of the targeted 15,000 design engineers and 35,000 engineers for other industry phases.
A model tested by MPI’s National Innovation Center (NIC) has demonstrated that coordination among the government, educational institutions, and businesses can help Vietnam produce over 5,000 chip design engineers annually.
Implementing this training model across 10 local training facilities could address the semiconductor workforce shortfall.
Vu Hai Quan, Director of HCM City National University, stressed the critical need for state agencies and businesses to be involved in the training process.
Da Nang is actively taking steps to address the engineer shortage issue, with the city aiming to create a conducive environment for enterprises to contribute to developing semiconductor human resources.
The city is focusing on legal frameworks, infrastructure, and collaboration with enterprises for training and talent attraction in chip, semiconductor, and AI fields.
Da Nang is home to around 10 chip design companies, employing 550 engineers, constituting 10% of Vietnam’s chip design workforce.
An important development was the launch of the Center for Research and Training in Microchip Design and Artificial Intelligence in January 2024.
Following its establishment, the center partnered with Synopsys and Intel to train and nurture human resources for Da Nang.
The recent closing ceremony for the “Basic VLSI Microcircuit Physical Design” course, jointly organized by NIC, Cadence Corporation, FPT Corporation, and Tresemi, marked the first comprehensive chip design training in Vietnam involving the state, schools, and businesses.
There were over 70 exceptional students from major universities nationwide selected for the program, with several securing positions at top corporations post-graduation.
FPT president Truong Gia Binh emphasized the ample job opportunities awaiting semiconductor graduates.
Many talented Vietnamese professionals in the chip industry residing in the US are collaborating to establish startups, turning startup concepts into reality with large enterprises in Vietnam.
Both businesses and educational institutions are urging the government to approve the semiconductor human resources development project promptly to seize the rare opportunity for industry advancement.
