Semiconductor Workforce Set to Boom in Vietnam

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, by 2023, the scale of Vietnam's semiconductor industry is estimated to reach $20-30 billion.

Data from the National Science and Technology Information Portal shows that Vietnam currently has nearly 5,600 semiconductor chip design engineers. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Communications is developing a National Semiconductor Industry Strategy with the goal of training 50,000 engineers by 2030. This means the country needs 10,000 semiconductor engineers annually to meet market demands. However, the current domestic workforce can only meet 50% of the annual personnel target.

To address the industry's "thirst" for talent, both businesses and universities in Vietnam are ramping up investment in training and enhancing the capabilities of engineers in the sector in the coming years.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam currently has about 35 higher education institutions directly training or closely related to the semiconductor technology field. Among these, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam National University Hanoi, and Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City are leading institutions in training graduates and engineers for the semiconductor chip sector.

Universities are actively improving training quality and expanding enrollment to meet future labor demands in the semiconductor industry. This reflects their agility in adapting to the rapidly changing labor market.

In 2023, Hanoi University of Science and Technology added a new specialization in Integrated Circuit Design within its Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering program and Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Engineering program. For the 2024-2025 academic year, Phenikaa University announced new admissions for two training programs in the semiconductor field: "Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Design" and "Semiconductor Chips and Packaging Technology".

According to FPT, salaries for engineers in the semiconductor industry are relatively high, typically starting from 15-20 million VND per month and can increase to 50-70 million VND per month after 5-10 years of experience.

Recently, to train workforce meeting international skill standards, Vietnam has strengthened cooperation with global technology companies such as Synopsys Group, Intel, Cadence, and others.

In June, Phenikaa University collaborated with Synopsys to launch a "Train the Trainers" course on semiconductor integrated circuit design for university lecturers, engineers, and students. In March, Synopsys Group also signed a cooperation agreement with Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City to develop human resources in the field of integrated circuit design.

Additionally, Intel Corporation has committed to supporting the Da Nang Center for Integrated Circuit Design and Artificial Intelligence Research and Training (DSAC) in organizing training courses for lecturers in the field of artificial intelligence.

Recently, the President of South Korea also announced support for Vietnam in training human resources in the semiconductor and high-tech industries.

In 2006, Intel was the first chip corporation to bring part of its chip production process to Vietnam, with total investment in Vietnam reaching $1.5 billion by January 2021.

In September 2023, Hana Micron Vina (South Korea), a manufacturer and processor of integrated circuit boards used in mobile phones and other smart electronic products, inaugurated a semiconductor production plant in Bac Giang.

At the end of 2023, Samsung Electro-Mechanics began producing semiconductor chip grid products in Thai Nguyen.

With its favorable geographical location, cheap labor force, open policies and legal framework, Vietnam is becoming a destination for many major players in the semiconductor industry from the US, Germany, China, and South Korea.

With efforts to rapidly and qualitatively boost training of human resources for the semiconductor chip industry, it is expected that in the coming years, the number of engineers in this field will increase rapidly, supplementing the high-quality workforce currently in short supply in Vietnam.