The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the National Innovation Centre and US tech giant Meta Group announced the Vietnam Innovation Challenge (VIC) 2024 in Hanoi on March 18.

AI, blockchain and semiconductors will be one of three priority groups subject to HCM City’s specific regime application on a trial basis under the National Assembly’s Resolution No 98.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Vietnamese government has been working on a plan to build a 50,000-strong workforce for the development of the country’s semiconductor industry until 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong has outlined three groundbreaking solutions to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), especially for the semiconductor and new industries.

The thirst for human resources in the semiconductor manufacturing industry has prompted many training institutions to open related majors before the 2024 enrolment season.

Vietnam aims to become a key player in the global semiconductor industry, with a skilled engineering team to fulfill both the quality and quantity requirements of the domestic sector.

VN will emerge as a pivotal link in the global semiconductor industry value chain, with a competent workforce of engineers and experts capable of meeting the demands for both quality and quantity in the development of the semiconductor industry.

Saigon Hi-Tech Park and Siemens Electronic Design Automation on February 27 signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in personnel training in the semiconductor chip industry in Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung says that Vietnam has strategic relations with semiconductor powerhouses.

Semiconductor products have been defined by the Government as one of the nine national products in the country’s efforts to actively engage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Currently, Vietnam has around 6,000 engineers working in the semiconductor industry for both domestic and foreign enterprises.

The semiconductor industry is expected to open up opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to step into the most modern and fundamental playground in the digital transformation process.

Vietnam will implement a national strategy on semiconductor industry development in 2024 to make it a key national industry in the coming decades, said Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

The government has assigned the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) to produce 50,000 semiconductor engineers to satisfy demand by 2030.

Vietnam is planning to establish a semiconductor research and development center in each of Hanoi, Danang and HCMC next year.

The US will help VN in developing semiconductor workforce, improving investment environment for the semiconductor industry, which are among the hardest, biggest constraints that companies face as they try and expand their semiconductor supply chains.

The central city of Da Nang on January 26 announced the decision to establish the Da Nang Semiconductor and Artificial Intelligence Center for Research and Training (DSAC).

Many significant financiers from developed countries are ready to invest in the country's semiconductor chip manufacturing, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung highlighted Vietnam's preparedness for the upcoming semiconductor industry investment wave.

Vietnam is estimated to face a shortage of 20,000 qualified personnel in the semiconductor industry in the next five years as foreign-invested enterprises pour money into the country's sector.