The Asia-Pacific region built its semiconductor strength on back-end assembly and testing, a model that served it well for decades. But as the industry moves up the value chain, demand has moved towards design engineers, process engineers and advanced packaging specialists; however, talent pools in the region have yet to develop at scale.
These roles sit at the intersection of design and manufacturing, says SEMI vice-president of global workforce development and initiatives Shari Liss. Such talent is in short supply worldwide, not just in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia’s Talent Challenge
SEMI is a global industry association that supports semiconductor companies in growing their businesses and addressing industry challenges worldwide. The challenge runs deeper in Malaysia because the very skills the country is trying to cultivate are also being aggressively recruited by Singapore and Taiwan.
At the same time, the industry loses about 15% of its talent annually to competing markets. “Malaysia isn’t just needing to fill a pipeline; it also needs to fill a pipeline that is currently also draining. This does change the strategy, meaning that retention has to be designed in from the beginning, not treated as a separate problem,” Liss tells Digital Edge.
Liss believes that the workforce challenge extends well beyond engineers. “The challenge isn’t purely an engineering shortage. The industry needs technicians, operators, data scientists who understand fab environments, supply chain professionals and talent who can bring innovations to market.
National Semiconductor Strategy
Under the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), Malaysia aims to train 60,000 skilled semiconductor professionals. While often framed as an engineering target, Liss says the industry also needs technicians, supply chain professionals, quality engineers and commercial talent alongside process engineers and integrated circuit (IC) designers.
“A strategy built only around degree-level engineering will leave serious workforce gaps that no amount of engineering graduates can possibly fill,” she says, adding that the target is achievable, provided several conditions are met. First, workforce development requires sustained government commitment and investment in long-term infrastructure.
“The pipeline has to start well before university. STEM awareness and engagement at the secondary school level is a critical piece of the workforce puzzle. If young Malaysians are not seeing semiconductor careers as real and attainable before they make decisions, they have already lost them,” she says.
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Industry Participation and Retention
Industry participation is equally important. Employers need to co-design academic programmes, offer apprenticeships and internships, commit to hiring graduates and provide equipment. “During the closed-door dialogue at Semicon SEA, I heard about Malaysia’s ‘industry in campus’ model, where companies contribute funds, create internships [and] donate used equipment so universities can run realistic cleanroom training.
Competing on salary alone is unlikely to solve the retention challenge. Instead, Liss says engineers need clear career progression pathways and meaningful work. “Work that matters seems to hold people in roles. If Malaysia attracts investment in genuinely advanced work, then the work itself becomes the reason to stay.
Beyond skills, the semiconductor industry also struggles to compete for graduates with Big Tech, software companies and artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups. Liss says the industry has been telling the wrong story as semiconductor companies often focus on the technology itself rather than its broader impact.
Diversity is another untapped source of talent. Women account for less than 20% of semiconductor roles globally, limiting both equity and workforce supply. “Broadening recruitment to reach women, career changers and people from non-traditional pathways does not just serve inclusion goals.
They believe the industry’s biggest advantage lies in giving people a sense of purpose. “If young Malaysians understood that their country is staking a real claim in the global semiconductor value chain and that their career could be part of building that, they would have a reason to engage that no software start-up in another country can easily match.”
The industry is looking to cashless payments as a potential area of growth.
Malaysia is making strides in property development, which could attract talent to the area.
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