10,000 Local Engineers To Be Trained Under Arm's 10-Year Semiconductor Programme — Amirudin
SUBANG JAYA, July 28 (Bernama) -- A total of 10,000 local engineers are expected to be trained in the semiconductor field through a training programme by the United Kingdom’s semiconductor design firm, Arm, over 10 years, said Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
The programme, known as Arm On-Demand, is the first Arm-led training programme in the country and is a strategic collaboration with the Advanced Semiconductor Academy of Malaysia (ASEM), a statement from ASEM said.
It is aligned with the country’s efforts to accelerate its ambition to develop homegrown chips within five to 10 years due to growing global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and data centre technologies, the statement said.
Amirudin said the initiative targets around 1,000 participants annually, with the first batch of 400 engineers already enrolled.
“So, if we run two or three cohorts, we can reach that target each year,” he told reporters at the programme’s launch today.
The event’s highlight was a partnership signing ceremony between Arm, ASEM and 20 Malaysian universities, a symbolic and unified commitment to advance semiconductor education and research.
The programme brings together participants from over 40 universities and engineers representing more than 80 companies across the semiconductor and technology sectors, reflecting strong national interest and commitment to talent development in advanced chip design.
Amirudin said the training, which focuses on front-end integrated circuit (IC) design, began earlier this year with the IC Design Part 1 course in Puchong, and positions Malaysia as a leading and sustainable front-end player in the semiconductor industry.
As of now, Amirudin said the Selangor state government has committed between RM5 million and RM10 million annually to propel the front end of the semiconductor value chain.
He also said the federal government, through the Economy Ministry, has increased its support to RM100 million from RM60 million. This underscores national-level confidence in the initiative, with total investments expected to exceed RM100 million over the next decade.
Amirudin also said he believes the Arm On-Demand Programme will move Selangor and Malaysia from completely relying on foreign direct investment towards building leaders and startups that will one day transform into leading companies that invest and export overseas.
“We must envision a technological ecosystem where we do not solely export, but a space and place where Malaysian companies can similarly move up the economic value chain to utilise and be consumers of these chips.
“We must move towards owning the intellectual property so that these chips are not just labelled ‘Assembled in Selangor’, but ‘Designed in Selangor’, ‘Made in Malaysia’,” Amirudin said.
Amirudin said these ambitions will be detailed in Selangor Plan 2, which is set to be launched next year. He expressed confidence that semiconductor and electrical and electronics engineering will be prioritised under the upcoming 13th Malaysia Plan, to be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on July 31.
Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong and Selangor State Executive Councillor for Investment, Trade and Mobility Ng Sze Han witnessed the ceremony.
-- BERNAMA