Taiwan bets on Vietnam, Indonesia for future chip-industry talent

[Viet]

Government, employers and schools seek 320,000 international students by 2030

Minghsin University of Science and Technology boasts cutting-edge semiconductor equipment, thanks to support from Taiwan's government and businesses. (Photo by Hideaki Ryugen)
HIDEAKI RYUGEN, Nikkei staff writerMarch 26, 2024 03:54 JST

TAIPEI -- As a falling birthrate threatens to shrink Taiwan's pool of high-tech talent, the island has turned to Southeast Asian students as a source of workers for the semiconductor industry.

On the outskirts of Hsinchu, a city nicknamed Taiwan's Silicon Valley, students at the Minghsin University of Science and Technology train on the kind of equipment used in real-life semiconductor factories.

Students can also intern at leading chip companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., ASE Technology Holding and Powertech Technology.
MUST's Semiconductor School -- dubbed a "mini TSMC" -- aims to produce specialists who can become immediate assets to future employers. Nearly 700 of the roughly 2,300 students come from Vietnam.

One Vietnamese student in a master's program chose to study in Taiwan to learn from its world-leading semiconductor industry. The 23-year-old plans to work for three or four years at a Taiwanese company after graduation to gain experience.

Minghsin University of Science and Technology opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City in July 2023 to recruit Vietnamese students. (Minghsin University of Science and Technology)

Programs like this reflect fears of a talent shortage among Taiwanese technology companies.
"We need tens of thousands more workers," said Chang Ho, dean of MUST's Semiconductor School. "Companies and universities need to work together to foster talent."

Stagnating wages, rising property prices and other pressures have pushed down Taiwan's birthrate in recent decades. Annual births fell to a record low of around 135,000 in 2023 from more than 300,000 in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, competition for talent in the semiconductor industry has only increased. TSMC alone now hires more than 6,000 workers a year.

Demand for chips is expected to continue growing amid advances in generative artificial intelligence and other technologies. Given Taiwan's reliance on the semiconductor industry, government, businesses and educational institutions here face pressure to come up with long-term strategies for securing workers.

Foreign students from Southeast Asia and elsewhere are seen as part of the solution. Taiwan announced plans last year to spend 5.2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($163 million) by 2028 to attract 320,000 foreign international students by 2030, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math. This means taking in students at as much as double the pace of before.

Taiwan also launched a new framework this year whereby the government and employers provide financial support to foreign students in exchange for their working in Taiwan for a certain period after they graduate.

The goal is to have around 70% of international students work in Taiwan after graduation, up from the current 40% to 50%.
Southeast Asian students are a major target of this push. Recent recruiting programs have popped up in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and elsewhere in the region to attract students.

 

[Indos]

Nice...

 

[Viet]

Nice...

Have you noticed on the chart?
The number of mainland Chinese to Taiwan is shrinking to 0.
That’s a win win for ASEAN students though.
Taiwan, the promised land of milk and honey

 

[Yellow is Okay]

Have you noticed on the chart?
The number of mainland Chinese to Taiwan is shrinking to 0.
That’s a win win for ASEAN students though.
Taiwan, the promised land of milk and honey

Similar sources in Vietnam indicate that students are required to stay in Taiwan for two years of work following their studies. It seems Taiwan is in need of labor, and it's likely that these students will be restricted to the design phase or assigned to minor production tasks. There's skepticism about whether they'll gain real experience in chip "manufacturing". Reflecting on how Taiwanese engineers acquired their skills in the US during Taiwan's transition from a labor-intensive to a high-tech economy, it's doubtful that these courses will significantly aid Vietnam and Indonesia's technological aspirations. The most effective strategy might be to negotiate ToT agreements, similar to the recent deal for a semiconductor plant between Tata, an Indian firm, and PSMC, a Taiwanese corporation.

 

[Viet]

Similar sources in Vietnam indicate that students are required to stay in Taiwan for two years of work following their studies. It seems Taiwan is in need of labor, and it's likely that these students will be restricted to the design phase or assigned to minor production tasks. There's skepticism about whether they'll gain real experience in chip "manufacturing". Reflecting on how Taiwanese engineers acquired their skills in the US during Taiwan's transition from a labor-intensive to a high-tech economy, it's doubtful that these courses will significantly aid Vietnam and Indonesia's technological aspirations. The most effective strategy might be to negotiate ToT agreements, similar to the recent deal for a semiconductor plant between Tata, an Indian firm, and PSMC, a Taiwanese corporation.

Taiwan requiring graduates to stay for 2y? Where is the problem? I see it in much positive light. That’s a big plus. Graduating at a foreign university and then immediately go home makes no sense at all.

 

[Yellow is Okay]

Taiwan requiring graduates to stay for 2y? Where is the problem? I see it in much positive light. That’s a big plus. Graduating at a foreign university and then immediately go home makes no sense at all.

"According to Mr. Dieu, the curriculum will be designed by Taiwanese universities depending on the needs of the ordering business. In 2 years, you only learn part of the semiconductor field that that business needs. Does not study extensively but requires learners to study deeply.

That's why the program will recruit people who have a previous background, such as those who have graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering, or those who are in their 2nd year, or 3rd year of college."

That doesn't quite fit the traditional definition of university graduation.

 

[kankan326]

Taiwan semiconductor legend is about to end. I heard ASML has invented 1nm EUV lithography machine. Which means Intel and Samsung can also produce 1nm chips. Let along China and US are becoming trade protectionism

 

[Indos]

Have you noticed on the chart?
The number of mainland Chinese to Taiwan is shrinking to 0.
That’s a win win for ASEAN students though.
Taiwan, the promised land of milk and honey

Indonesia and Taiwan has close relationship culturally. The indigenous people of Taiwanase is Indonesian ancestor

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Taiwan, Japanese, and South Korean focus more on SEA migrant workers from what I read recently

 

[Yellow is Okay]

Taiwan semiconductor legend is about to end. I heard ASML has invented 1nm EUV lithography machine. Which means Intel and Samsung can also produce 1nm chips. Let along China and US are becoming trade protectionism

TSMC as the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer should have access to new lithography machines, just like Samsung. The only potential challenge to Taiwan’s dominance in this sector could come from the US if they manage to revive advanced chip manufacturing domestically, and perhaps India as well.

 

[Viet]

"According to Mr. Dieu, the curriculum will be designed by Taiwanese universities depending on the needs of the ordering business. In 2 years, you only learn part of the semiconductor field that that business needs. Does not study extensively but requires learners to study deeply.

That's why the program will recruit people who have a previous background, such as those who have graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering, or those who are in their 2nd year, or 3rd year of college."

That doesn't quite fit the traditional definition of university graduation.

Yes but that’s better than nothing.
The way to get Vietnam to high income is better education, more investment in infrastructure, more machinery, more hightec.
That practice in Taiwan sounds similar what here in Germany. The classical or theoretical university and practical or technical university. I attended both. Here they call Fachhochschule and Technische Hochschule. Before that I attended technical college.

 

[kankan326]

TSMC as the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer should have access to new lithography machines, just like Samsung. The only potential challenge to Taiwan’s dominance in this sector could come from the US if they manage to revive advanced chip manufacturing domestically, and perhaps India as well.

1nm is very likely to the ceiling of silicon-based semiconductor. Traditional physics laws may not work anymore in the sizes of smaller than 1nm. The story of semiconductor evolution will come to end.

 

[Viet]

1nm is very likely to the ceiling of silicon-based semiconductor. Traditional physics laws may not work anymore in the sizes of smaller than 1nm. The story of semiconductor evolution will come to end.

Nonsense
If the end of silicon evolution what comes then?
Fresh hot air?
probably not
You can add layers of layers of chips, so-called stacking.
By the way the world will go to software. Stupid hardware are less worth than intelligent software.
Nvida is worth $2 trillion not because its hardware.

 

[Menthol]

Future chip industry talents...

Indonesia has a lot of talents.

Decades of economic development, and sending children to aboard for higher education.

It's too bad that most of them went to other countries for work.

 

[Indos]

Future chip industry talents...

Indonesia has a lot of talents.

Decades of economic development, and sending children to aboard for higher education.

It's too bad that most of them went to other countries for work.

We dont have this industry inside our country. Let them work in Taiwan, so when there is investor to make this chip making in our country we have already had lot of knowledgeable groups of people in this industry to be called home. When we reach 50 something, we tend to prefer our home country despite getting less salary

 

[Indos]

Japan ambassador in Indonesia also said Japan needs Indonesian man power. The Indonesian migrant workers have increased at 197 % from the figure in 2019 and Japan will open more sectors for Indonesian workers. Shrinking population due to negative fertility rates which happens in all North East Asian countries is said by him as the main reason for that.