Vietnam seeks Samsung collaboration to train semiconductor engineers

Samsung should continue cooperating with the National Innovation Center (NIC), under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), to help Vietnam’s target of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung made the statement at a meeting last Friday with a Samsung delegation.

He affirmed developing the semiconductor sector is a priority of Vietnam and that the country is drafting many supporting policies, including those related to workforce training and the Investment Support Fund.

The to-be-launched fund aims to encourage global giants to invest in R&D centers, high technologies, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence (AI), the minister added.

Appreciating Samsung as top foreign investor in Vietnam, Minister Dung affirmed Vietnam would always facilitate Samsung’s activities and investments in the country on basis of “shared benefits and risks.”

In reply, the Samsung delegation said the conglomerate would continue cooperating with Vietnam per “shared benefits and risks” policy and collaborating in training the semiconductor workforce.

In October 2023, the Vietnamese government said it plans to train between 50,000 and 100,000 high-skilled workers in the 2025-2030 period as the country braces for a fresh investment wave to sweep its semiconductor industry.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the plan was part of broader efforts to develop a skilled workforce in tandem with fostering R&D, technology application, innovation and entrepreneurship.

In May, Samsung Vietnam and the National Innovation Center (NIC) jointly launched the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) 2023-2024, a technological talent training program, at the NIC facility in Hanoi.

The move is part of the cooperation between Samsung Vietnam and NIC, per an agreement signed in October 2023, for education and high-technology training for the Vietnamese young generation.

Four Vietnamese subsidiaries of South Korean giant Samsung Electronics reported combined revenues of KRW42,017.3 billion ($31.38 billion) in the first half of 2024, up 8.6% year-on-year, but post-tax profits decreased 2% to KRW2,939.7 billion ($2.2 billion).