Semiconductor Capacity Is Up, But Mind the Talent Gap

By Anne-Françoise Pelé, EETimes Europe (April 15, 2024)

The end of the chip shortage isn’t the end of the talent shortage.

The semiconductor industry is cyclical, with periods of high demand followed by periods of low demand. According to Deloitte, this is the sixth cycle since 1990. However, a few points of growth or decline pale into insignificance against the long-term trend of an industry expected to exceed US$1 trillion in annual revenues by the end of the decade.

From Germany to the U.S. to China, semiconductor fab projects are burgeoning. According to Semi’s latest World Fab Forecast, global semiconductor production capacity will increase by 6.4% in 2024, exceeding 30 million wafers per month. In 2024, 42 new semiconductor fabs are expected to start mass production, a sharp increase over the 11 new fabs in 2023.

The semiconductor industry is effervescent, but manufacturing capacity is only part of the equation. Even though the new fabs are increasingly automated, several essential functions need to be integrated promptly, from process engineering to quality control to equipment maintenance.

This is where the puzzle gets tricky.

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