At the workshop "Vietnam's semiconductor industry C=SET+1", within the framework of the 6th National Forum on Vietnamese digital technology enterprises (Make in Vietnam), Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich, Director of the Department of Information Technology and Communications Industry (Ministry of Information and Communications) said that according to the Strategy for developing Vietnam's semiconductor industry to 2030 and vision to 2050, phase one sets the goal of training 50,000 engineers and bachelors specializing in semiconductors, with the scale of semiconductor industry revenue in Vietnam reaching over 25 billion USD/year.

Emphasizing the human resource factor in the development strategy of Vietnam's semiconductor industry, Mr. Lich said that human resources are also the factor that turns Vietnam into a "magnet" attracting technology giants, including many global semiconductor giants in recent times.

Agreeing with this opinion, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Director of Innovation and Technology Development of Sovico Group, shared that Vietnamese engineers, with their hard-working and good math and physics skills, often take on high positions in semiconductor design in particular and semiconductor manufacturing in general.

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Director of the Department of Information Technology and Communications Industry shares about the development strategy of Vietnam's semiconductor industry. Photo: TD

Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Phu Son, Business Development Director of FPT Semiconductor, said that Vietnam currently has about 5,000 semiconductor engineers, many of whom are working for FPT Semi. The company also aims to have 10,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030.

According to FPT Semi representative, the semiconductor industry is facing a number of challenges, such as global competition, coming from countries in the region as well as a shortage of experienced human resources.

According to Mr. Cuong, technology engineers with short-term courses can still take on chip design, because the nature of this process "is not developed from scratch, but is based on existing foundations in the world".

Training human resources right in the "cradle" of Asian semiconductors

Taiwan (China) is home to the world's leading semiconductor companies. With a strong semiconductor ecosystem, Taiwan's foundries account for 63.8% of the global market. Its on-premises packaging and testing (OSAT) sector is also the world's largest with a 58.6% market share.

According to one estimate, the island is the source of 80% to 90% of high-end chips for advanced applications such as smartphones and AI. Therefore, studying and working right in the "cradle" of semiconductors will help Vietnamese engineers quickly gain the necessary experience.

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Cooperation in training Vietnamese semiconductor human resources right in Taiwan. Photo: SG

A representative of Sovico Group assessed that training semiconductor human resources cannot happen overnight, as an engineer will need at least 10 years of experience working in the industry.

To solve this problem, Mr. Cuong shared about the "2+2+4 Semiconductor Training Program" with Universities in Taiwan (China).

"2+2+4" is explained as follows: Students will complete a 2-year program at a Vietnamese university, then have their tuition and living expenses covered for 2 years of study in Taiwan. Graduates will receive a university degree from a Taiwanese university and have the opportunity to work for the next 4 years for semiconductor companies here.

Appreciating this initiative, Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich believes that with the potential and determination of Vietnamese digital enterprises, the goal of 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030 is achievable.

Also within the framework of the Workshop, Mr. Lich said that developing specialized chips is a focus in Vietnam's semiconductor development strategy, because these products are easier to design and manufacture than general-purpose chips from leading companies such as Nvidia, AMD or Intel.

In addition, Vietnam also needs to master technology to reduce dependence on foreign countries and increase domestic production capacity. In the immediate future, Vietnam aims to build and operate a small-scale but high-tech chip factory from now until 2030.

"A country without a semiconductor factory will not be considered a semiconductor country," the leader of the Department of Information Technology and Communications Industry affirmed.