Over 13,000 Engineers, Skilled Technical Personnel Trained, Absorbed Into Chip Industry Since NSS Launch

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- A total of 13,679 engineers and skilled technical personnel have been trained, certified and absorbed into various segments of the semiconductor industry since the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) was launched in May 2024.

Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong said this indicates that Malaysia is on a solid foundation to meet its target of training 60,000 highly skilled talents by 2030, covering areas such as integrated circuit design, advanced packaging, wafer fabrication, and related research and development.

He said universities involved in this effort include Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, and Universiti Malaysia Perlis.

Skills centres are also involved, including the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS), the Advanced Semiconductor Academy of Malaysia–SIDEC, and the Penang Skills Development Centre.

“Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology (CREST), an agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), also signed a memorandum of understading with the Human Resource Development Corporation on July 24, 2025, to establish a strategic partnership in talent development under the NSS framework,” he pointed out during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to Khairil Nizam Khirudin (PN–Jerantut), who wanted to know the number of highly skilled engineers trained and absorbed into the semiconductor industry since the NSS launch as well as the level of collaboration between multinational chipmakers and public universities to meet the sector’s human resource requirements.

Meanwhile, replying to Khairil Nizam’s supplementary question on talent migration, Liew acknowledged that Malaysia faces a situation where the majority of semiconductor graduates choose to work abroad.

“I was informed that out of every 10 graduates we train, only three remain in Malaysia after a few years. The issue is salary, as they tend to receive better offers in Singapore.

“So, as a country, we must be prepared to offer more competitive salaries to those in the high-tech sector,” he added.

-- BERNAMA