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<There are many voices calling for innovation in the system to nurture professional manpower in system semiconductor, in order for South Korea to become a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse by 2030. The photo was taken during the K-Semiconductor Strategy Report held on May 13th attended by President Jae-in Moon in attendance. >

Demand calling for a strong human resource development system for ‘South Korea to leap forward as a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse by 2030’ has grown. Improving the quota of graduate schools and universities has especially been pointed out as an urgent matter to meet the demand for master’s and doctoral level manpower. It seems that incentives should be arranged to make departments to adjust quota, including the establishment of new semiconductor-related departments and expansion of minors.
There is a great concern that the vision of a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse could 'fail in vain' unless the chronic shortage of manpower in the semiconductor industry is resolved, even though it has emerged as a national core strategic industry.
 
At the ‘1st System Semiconductor Win-Win Forum’ held at Seoul National University on June 23, Kang-Jin Joo, senior researcher at KCERN, said, “In order to nurture the experts needed in the semiconductor industry, universities should resolve the problem of quota and the government should consult with universities to come up with a practical plan to increase the number of semiconductor-related master’s and doctoral students" He argues that if the current state of supply and demand in the semiconductor industry is not identified and reflected in university quota adjustments, the government’s call for nurturing semiconductor experts can be an empty cry.
 
The Korean government and industries have declared its vision leap forward to become a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse by 2030. However, it will not be easy to realize the vision if the manpower shortage is not addressed. In fact, it is known that the number of semiconductor experts with a master’s degree or higher at universities is produced far below the level required by the industry.
 
According to the ‘2020 Semiconductor Industry Human Resources Survey’, the annual shortage of manpower with master’s and doctoral degrees in semiconductors is around 200. However, the number of graduates with such post-graduate degrees in semiconductor-related majors at Korean universities is on a continuous decline. The Ministry of Education reported that in 2017, there were 143 graduates with master’s and doctoral degrees in semiconductors from universities nationwide. The number dropped to 135 in 2018, and it plummeted to 92. Although the number of graduates increased slightly to 115 last year, it is a 20% decrease compared to 2017, when the semiconductor super-cycle was in full swing.
 
Academia also pointed out that the ‘limitation on the graduate school quota’ should be improved to solve the shortage of semiconductor experts. In particular, each department has no choice but to increase the number of students on its own, since it is virtually impossible to increase the total capacity of graduate schools in the metropolitan area. Professors and teachers must be secured for this, but it is explained that it is difficult to secure even professors who will teach semiconductors as a major.
 
An engineering professor at Seoul National University said, “In order to secure professors to teach semiconductor, we need to make
various improvements in the university manpower structure and evaluation system. Realistically speaking, however, it is difficult to solve these problems one by one since it is urgent to train semiconductor experts.”

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<Dr. Yang-paeng Kim, an industry researcher, is giving a presentation on Taiwan’s status and implications of nurturing Taiwanese semiconductor manpower. By Staff Reporter Ji-ho Park jihopress@etnews.com>

Above all, industry, academia, and research all view it is a distant dream to secure competitiveness in the semiconductor industry without master’s and doctoral-level experts.
 
At the forum, Senior Researcher Ye-ji Yoon from KCERN presented ‘The Current Status and Implications of Domestic Semiconductor Manpower Development’. She advised, "The lack of skilled and experienced experts that can immediately brought to the field is cited as a reason for the manpower shortage in the semiconductor industry. It is necessary to nurture advanced talents with problem-solving skills and in-depth research on their field of study.”
 
A representative of a system semiconductor company said, “As long as there are talented masters and doctoral-level experts, an educational environment can be created on its own in to improve the skillset of bachelor-level manpower. For Korea to become a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse, including system semiconductors, it is urgent that we train manpower with master’s and PhD degrees in this field."
 
By Staff Reporter Dong-jun Kwon <djkwon@etnews.com>