HANOI: Bac Giang Province is focusing on developing a high-skilled workforce to bring in investments in the semiconductor industry and seize the chance to make the most of developments in a digital era.
The important role of the semiconductor industry in global economic development has been recognised. The province has organised a special forum to discuss how to get a bigger and better local workforce.
There are three enterprises operating in the semiconductor industry in the province, including Hana Micron Vina and Si Flex Vietnam, with South Korean investment and Synergie Cad Vietnam, which has French investment.
Together, the companies employ more than 8,000 workers, predominantly degree and college graduates, with majors in automation, electronic engineering, information technology, mechanical engineering and chemical technology.
Nguyen Xuan Ngoc, deputy head of Bac Giang Province’s Management Board of Industrial Parks, said that more companies in the semiconductor sector are expected to arrive in local industrial zones and the workforce will be expanding.
It will need an additional 1,866 employees by the end of 2024 and 6,300 in the 2025-30 period.
Because the semiconductor industry is a relatively new venture for Bac Giang in particular and Vietnam in general, the number of employees with the right skills remain limited.
Thus, Vietnamese employees typically require on-the-job training upon starting work in the semiconductor sector.
According to Chung Won Seok, general director of Hana Micron Vina Limited Liability Company, Hana Micron, the company has ambitious growth plans for the new semiconductor industry ecosystem in Vietnam.
By 2025, the company plans to increase investment in Bac Giang from US$600mil to US$1bil and provide jobs for nearly 3,000 people, with 70% being Vietnamese. The company forecasts revenues of around US$800mil.
Bac Giang currently has a working-age population of 1.1 million, with 76% having received training, including graduates from local colleges.
Bac Giang Vietnam-Korea College of Technology is one of the local colleges that has collaborated with Hana Micron Vina for training students, organising internships and running recruitment drives after graduation.
On Nov 11, 2023, 62 students from the college of technology, started work at Hana Micron Vina.
Nguyen Cong Thong, the college’s principal, said the college has recently earmarked a separate area for training, research and development and technology transfer just for semiconductor enterprises.
The local authority is also asking the college to focus on skills training for the semiconductor industry, to serve both companies in the northern province and even send workers to other localities and even international markets, the principal added.
Standing deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Son said that agencies and organisations should work together to develop a plan for the chip industry by 2030. — Viet Nam News/ANN
