The significant shortage of graduate-level personnel hinders the country’s ability to attract investments in advanced technology, especially in the area of integrated circuit (IC).
This was the observation of Dr. Louis Alarcon, head – Microelectronics Department, University of the Philippines and director of the Center for Integrated Circuits and Devices Research (CIDR) in a recent roundtable discussion.
Alarcon underscored the huge role of Integrated circuits in the development of the country’s semiconductor and electronics (S&E) industry.
“The often-overlooked diminutive integrated circuit is the cornerstone of all our modern electronic devices and is continuously enabling advancements in computing, telecommunications, automotive, power, and other industries,” Alarcon said.
Alarcon’s observation comes as the government and private sector partners have set a target to produce 128,000 engineers and technicians for the country’s S&E industry by 2028 – from micro-engineers to Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-certified technicians, licensed engineers to PhD and masters graduates.
Alarcon said the CIDR which serves as a platform for developing graduate-level talent and facilitates the sharing of resources and faculty can be expanded to a national scale with the support of the BOI to reach more candidates for S&E workers.
According to Dan Lachica, president of Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc., students must be informed of the country’s semiconductor industry opportunities to increase the workforce.
The BOI said the target number of workers can be achieved by looking at the specific requirements of the industry and tapping academic institutions and partner agencies in the education sector for advocacies to build the future workforce, from junior and senior high school students to higher education students, better understand and appreciate the local S&E industry.
While the Philippines is a successful hub for semiconductor manufacturing services with strengths in assembly, test, and packaging, as well as in electronics manufacturing services with strengths in complex PCB assembly, box build, and systems assembly, it is still an emerging player in IC design.
