China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency drive needs to strengthen development of talent and skills, education agency executive says
- Executive says there is still a gap in integrated circuits expertise between China and overseas, ‘especially in manufacturing’
- Areas such as artificial intelligence and big data are still more popular with students than courses on semiconductors currently
China’s semiconductor sector, a strategic industry that Beijing wants to see less dependent on foreign technology, faces a big skills and knowledge gap, according to an executive at a domestic education agency.
Chen Ying, a partner at Huike Edutech, which helps college students connect with industries such as chip-making, told the South China Morning Post in an interview that only a small number of students want to devote themselves to the semiconductor sector.
“Students are quite realistic,” said Chen. “They may feel the job is too hard and not that well-paid.”
In 2020, Huike formed a joint venture with Empyrean Technology, a domestic leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software used in chip design, to train future talent and he sees a lot of work ahead.
“There is still a gap in integrated circuits [expertise] between China and overseas, especially in manufacturing”, Chen said. “The gap may be as wide as one or two generations, when it comes to EDA software and production. We want to use our expertise to help [make a difference]”.
Chen added that areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are still more popular with students than courses on semiconductors because the former currently offer better and clearer career prospects.