Vietnam is facing a shortage of semiconductor talent, as the country’s booming semiconductor industry struggles to meet the growing demand for skilled workers.
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnam needs 5,000-10,000 engineers a year for the semiconductor industry, but only 20 percent of demand can be met.
The US government has committed to give financial support of $2 million to initiatives on developing the workforce for the semiconductor industry and setting up laboratories that serve teaching and practicing related to chip assembling, testing, and packaging.
However, experts say that more needs to be done to address the talent shortage. Vu Tu Thanh, head of the Vietnam office of the US-ASEAN Business Council, said that Vietnam has only 5,000-6,000 hardware engineers with chip expertise, while it needs 20,000 in 5 years and 50,000 in one decade.
Thanh said that the temporary solution is to employ foreign engineers. However, when the semiconductor industry develops to a certain level, having enough qualified workers is a must for Vietnam.
