It has been forecast that there needs to be a 50,000-strong workforce of university graduates or higher in place over the next ten years to meet demand from more than 50 FDI enterprises that have and will have invested in Vietnam’s microchip and semiconductor industry.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), Vietnam is expected to become a global hub for semiconductor manufacturing with the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the country and the US.

Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Higher Education Department at MoET, said many more foreign companies are expected to invest in the microchip and semiconductor industry in Vietnam as a result of President Joe Biden’s visit to the country last month.

The industry will need about 20,000 engineers over the next five years, she said, and 50,000 over the next ten years. Demand will be especially high for microchip designers.

Over recent years, Vietnam has encouraged science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with a focus on information and communications technology (ICT).

In the 2019-2022 period the number of students joining STEM education programs increased 10 per cent each year; higher than the average growth in student numbers of 6,5 per cent nationwide.

According to Dr. Thuy, leading technology universities in Vietnam are capable of meeting demand for human recourses training in the microchip semiconductor industry.

MoET is preparing two projects on training high-quality human resources for the high-tech sector, which will be submitted to the Prime Minister by the end of this year. The ministry will also soon prepare an action plan on a research and training program in microchips and semiconductors.