American firms Qorvo, Cadence help Vietnam develop semiconductor workforce

U.S.-headquartered Qorvo and Cadence have joined Vietnam’s ambitious effort to train 50,000 engineers for the semiconductor chip industry by 2030.

At the opening of an analog Integrated Circuit (IC) design course in Hanoi on Tuesday, Qorvo, Inc. sent its IC design lecturers and specialists and shared its U.S.-standard curriculum.

Meanwhile, California-based computational software multinational Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is supporting the course with its IC software copyrights.

The three-month course held at the National Innovation Center (NIC) on the outskirts of Hanoi has 40 learners who include lecturers, specialists and “excellent” students from nine universities across the country. Each learner has been granted a scholarship of VND30 million ($1,182).

Speaking at the launch of the course, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said it not only marked the start of the IC design program but also a big stride in the country’s path to mastering semiconductor technology.

With the semiconductor value chain gradually moving to Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam was well positioned to develop this industry, counting on advantages like a favorable geographic location, a tech-savvy young workforce, improved infrastructure and a conducive business environment, Dung said.

He noted that the course was part of efforts to achieve the goal of having 50,000 engineers and graduates by 2030 to serve the semiconductor and chip industry, including 15,000 in the IC design phase.

Also Tuesday, the NIC and Qorvo signed a memorandum of understanding on promoting the semiconductor ecosystem in Vietnam, with a focus on research & development and high-quality manpower training.

At the signing ceremony, Qorvo president and CEO Bob Bruggeworth appreciated the rapid development of the semiconductor industry in Vietnam as well as the government’s determination in developing its related ecosystem.

He said he believed that the NIC would become a semiconductor chip hub in the country.

Meanwhile, Qorvo will continue expanding in Vietnam to create more IC jobs, he added.