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The upcoming CS International Conference will serve as a stark reminder that the industry’s continued success is bad news for existing and future vacancies.
Enjoying growth
The developments in the Internet of Things (IOT), artificial intelligence (AI), mobile technology and automation have caused a boom in the semiconductor industry. While the global industry’s predicted growth from $463.5 billion in 2016 to $831.5 billion in 2024 is excellent news for company growth, share prices and investor relations, pressure to find quality candidates to fill the ever-increasing number of vacancies is mounting.
Previously a cyclical industry which experiences peaks and troughs in demand, semiconductors are now closely tied to the health of the global economy, and has been the best performing industry in the world for the past five years. Increasing demand for electronics shows no sign of slowing; in fact, this growth is set to continue with the advent of 5G and autonomous technology.
Barrier to success
New talent is key to sustaining this exponential growth. CEO of SEMI (the global industry association representing the semiconductor industry) Ajit Manocha recently penned a letter to SEMI member CEOs, warning that cooperation was necessary to ensure that the industry did not “choke on [our] own growth. Attracting new candidates and developing a global work force are critical to sustain the pace of innovation and growth.” He also stated that, worldwide, there were over 10,000 open vacancies within the industry.
The main issue is that the current talent pool is shallow – qualified people can’t be hired and new people can’t be trained at the speed needed to sustain this rate of growth. Silicon Valley companies such as Apple and Google have been hoovering up talent for years now, and traditional manufacturers are struggling to compete with ‘sexier’ offerings from consumer-facing companies such as these. 77% of semiconductor industry executives believe that there is currently a critical talent shortage.
The solution
There are several demographics which are woefully underrepresented in the semiconductor industry. Women, for example, are believed to 
comprise less than 20% of the industry’s employees. Diversifying the intake of candidates would tap into previously unfished talent pools, opening up new opportunities for talent leaders to access a wider range of potential candidates.
However, reaching new talent means appealing to people in ways that traditional semiconductor manufacturers have never done before. Improving an employer’s value proposition (EVP) is a key step in winning hearts and minds in the war for talent. 60% of semiconductor executives believe that their organisations suffer from a poor brand image compared with other technology companies; why on earth would talent choose your company over another with better optics? Improving semiconductor companies’ EVP will result in the broader reach the industry so badly needs.
If you need help in improving your EVP and diversity, we’d love to discuss how we can help. Contact us today.
Will you be at the CS International Conference? Why not meet us there to talk about developing your talent pool?
