Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam needs stronger humanresources to serve the growing integrated circuit (IC) industry tocreate greater investment opportunities.

Mai Anh Tuan from the National Centre for TechnologicalProgress under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said: "IC isat the heart of all electronic devices. The industry offers coresupport to other industries such as information technology, telecoms,and mechanical and automated engineering.”

Tuan said that “The US-China trade war will rearrange global industrialproduction. Vietnam is one of best equipped countries in the regionto attract a hi-tech production investment wave.”

Big IC companies such as Samsung, LG, Sharp and Foxconn are reported to beplanning to expand in the country.  

With 20 years of experience in the industry, Terry Teh, director at AdvinnoTechnologies Pte Ltd, Singapore could also see the opportunities for Vietnam.

“Vietnam is strong in IC design so a lot of multi-national companies are comingto the country,” he said.

Teh also said Vietnam could build an ecosystem with the Government,universities and companies involved to boost development in the country.

However, Tuan, who runs the IC Microfabrication Laboratory and Pilot PlantCenter at Hoa Lac High-tech Park, said: “Vietnam is lacking well trained ICengineers.”

There are about 100,000 fresh under-graduate engineers each year, butthey are still far behind the middle- and high-level IC engineers neededin the country over the next five years as the industryrapidly grows.

There are now more than 300,000 enterprises in HCM City and the number isforecast to reach 500,000 in 2020, raising the demand for high-quality labour.

The demand for highly skilled workers has grown at least 20 percent peryear in the last three years, but labour supply cannot meet demand.

Tuan said to fill the gap Vietnam should also introduce IC trainingat local vocational and short-term training centres, as wellas colleges and universities.

According to Tran Phu Duy, a research associate at Future IndustriesInstitute, University of South Australia, Vietnam and Australia are cooperatingin technology and innovation, and Australia will help Vietnam to growits technology workforce to serve the 4.0 era. Thus, Vietnam has a goodopportunity to develop its IC engineers.”

Duy, who is an expert in sensor and microchip research, is co-operating withthe Vietnam Institute of Technology Application to research and manufacturebiochemical sensors with ultra-high sensitivity that can quickly detect therisk of pre-eclampsia.

He said that human resources were both an advantage and challenge for Vietnam.

“It is a challenge to train IC staff but it is more difficult to keep them oncethey are skilled,” said Duy, adding that the country needed amechanism to attract knowledgeable experts and researchers who could trainadjacent engineers to develop the IC industry.

Agreeing with Duy, Tuan said few people worked in the industry and those thatdid keep switching jobs for higher salaries, causing instability in thelocal industry.

He said: “Vietnam should create better conditions to train more ICengineers as well as to attract Vietnamese IC experts who are working in Japan,South Korea, Taiwan and the US to serve their country.”

As a first step to solving the problem, Phenikaa Group has decided tospend 500 billion VND (21.5 million USD) on a fund for research and traininghuman resources in IC design. President of the group Ho Xuan Nangmade the announcement at a workshop which gathered 100 international anddomestic experts in Hanoi this month.

The workshop on IC Design and Fabrication (We Fab) was held for the second timein Hanoi to discuss IC simulation and modelling; specialised ICdesign and manufacturing; sensor technology; and Industry 4.0 and its impactson Vietnam’s future industry./.