Chips manufacturers seek talent urgently. In Europe only 100,000 more engineers are needed

During the next five years the global semiconductor industry will need to incorporate nothing less than One million qualified workers. This prognosis is no elucubration; It comes from SEMIan international organization that watches over the interests of the electronics industries and integrated circuits. According to their forecasts Europe will face a deficit of 100,000 engineers, and Asia will need 200,000 qualified technicians.

These a priori figures may seem exaggerated, but they are not at all if we consider that for 2024 the chips industry grew by 19.1% compared to 2023 thanks to the demand for GPUs for artificial intelligence (AI) and consumer electronic products, as well as to the expansion of 5G communications throughout the planet and the development of the car market. In 2024 the global semiconductor industry invoiced 627.6 billion dollars.

There are not enough professionals to support the growth of this industry

TSMC, The biggest chips manufacturer on the planethe goes hunting again year after year to be able to meet his needs. During 2023 recruited 6,000 engineers For its Taiwan facilities, and presumably this trend also remained for 2024. And between 2025 and 2028 it will start several semiconductor manufacturing plants in the US, Germany, Taiwan and Japan. TSMC is one of the most successful companies in this sector, but with all probability other chips designers and manufacturers will also need to strengthen their templates.

In this situation the salaries offered by these companies are very high. The average salary of an engineer without previous experience, endorsed by a master’s degree and newcomer to TSMC exceeds $ 65,500 annually (Approximately 56,000 euros), But this is just the starting point. It is assumed that as their salary acquires experience. The problem facing semiconductor companies, According to semiis that as many people with technical profile are not being formed in universities as they will need in the short and medium term.

In addition, many of the most experienced engineers are retiring or will do so before 2030. As a button shows: in the US, a third of employees of integrated circuit companies have 55 years or more. And in Germany a third of the technicians who have developed their work career in the chips industry will retire throughout the next decade. However, there is another challenge that also compromises the future of these companies: the next batch of engineers will have to have advanced skills in AI and Automatic learning.

The companies that are dedicated to the semiconductors are aware of the problem that already looms on them, which has caused some to have launched initiatives that initiatives that initiatives that initiatives that They go beyond offering good salaries. Some of these measures are to invest in the progression of their professionals and offer them flexibility to prevent them from leaving; in seeking candidates with non -traditional profiles in which their skills prevail and not their training, or in promoting the incorporation of women into this industry. At the moment Women represent only 17% of technical positions in the semiconductor industry.

Image | TSMC

More information | SEMI

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