Skill mismatch an issue as Vietnam prepares surge in semiconductor, IC manpower

Vietnam has to resolve the issue of skill mismatches as it prepares a significant workforce increase for semiconductor, integrated circuit (IC) and quantum technology sectors, experts say.

The country has set a goal of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030, but it’s a fact that many graduates of well-known industrial engineering universities fail to meet practical requirements, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hoai Quoc, chairman of the Automation Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAuA).

He was speaking at a conference on “Automation & Energy: The driver for smart manufacturing” held Thursday in the southern province of Binh Duong.

To deal with this problem, HAuA was trying to forge better connections between businesses with higher educational institutions, aiming to provide in-depth training that matches actual market place needs, Quoc said.

Vietnam lacks “policy counter-arguments” for the improvement of related laws, he said, adding that such conferences offered good opportunities for businesses and engineers to compare notes and initiate changes.

Nguyen Truong Thi, deputy director of the municipal Department of Trade and Industry, said that the local government was offering favorable conditions related to capital, infrastructure, human resource training and business matchmaking in order to help firms access latest technologies.

Binh Duong has been strengthening automation in non-manufacturing sectors and ensuring efficient use and management of energy in the transition to smart production transition, Thi stressed.

Binh Duong is slated to host the Automation World Vietnam 2024 and the Electric Energy Show 2024 - ELECS 2024 exhibitions in September this year. The events are expected to draw 150 firms, including big names like Daekhon Vina, Autonic, Evvolabs, LS Electric and Hanyoung Nux.

So far this year (as of May 15), Binh Duong had welcomed 74 foreign-invested projects with $341 million, resulting in an accumulated 4,300 FDI projects valued at $40.6 billion from 65 countries and territories, coming third nationwide behind Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.