Vietnam Education Semiconductor Training
As Vietnam continues to grow its strategic role in the semiconductor (“chip”) supply chain, numerous opportunities exist for collaboration between educational institutions and the private sector to grow the semiconductor workforce of the future in Vietnam.
Currently, Vietnam ranks among the top three countries in Asia exporting chips to the United States, with Vietnamese chips making up approximately 11.6% of U.S. market share. According to research company Technavio, the value of the semiconductor market in Vietnam is expected to grow by about 6.5% per year. In recent years, international firms including Intel, Samsung, Synopsys, Cadence, and Qorvo have invested in semiconductor chip production in Vietnam. Domestic enterprises, including FPT, VNPT, and Viettel, are also active in chip research and production.
Meeting this growing demand will require significant human capital from educated and qualified workers. Currently, Vietnam has only around 5000 engineers qualified in chip design, manufacturing, and packaging. This number is significantly lower than leading countries like India, China, and the United States, and is particularly striking given Vietnam’s young workforce and population of nearly 100 million. To rapidly increase this number, the Vietnamese Government aims to train at least 50,000 high-skilled workers for the semiconductor industry by 2030.
In early 2024, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that cultivating a skilled semiconductor workforce is the top priority in higher education in Vietnam. Currently, 35 higher education institutions in the country provide direct training in semiconductors or closely related majors such as information technology, electricity-electronics, and electronics-telecommunications. Vietnamese universities expect to enroll over 1,000 students in semiconductor engineering programs in the upcoming academic year, focusing primarily on design, alongside 7,000 students in related fields. Enrollment is expected to progressively increase by 20% to 30% annually.
However, additional investment is needed to support this high-tech field. An alliance of five large, prestigious local universities – including include Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam National University Hanoi, University of Da Nang, and Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology – is leading training efforts for the industry.
In addition to the collaborative efforts among these universities, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training is exploring opportunities to attract experts and expand training partnerships. To further support these efforts, the United States, via the International Technology and Security Innovation (ITSI) Fund established under the CHIPS Act, recently announced initial funding of US $2 million to kickstart international educational collaboration in Vietnam.
The U.S. Commercial Service in Vietnam can help you connect with these opportunities in semiconductor education and training programs.
For more information, please contact:
U.S. Commercial Service Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Huong Nguyen, Commercial Assistant at Huong.Nguyen@trade.gov