Global turmoil hits UK semiconductor skills
The UK government needs to address the skills gap for semiconductors or it will cease to be a significant global power, says the chief executive of UK TechWorks.
“If we don’t have credible semiconductor industry we won’t be going to the G7 conferences in 15 years. I don’t think they get that. I don’t think the senior member of the government realise the house is on fire,” said Charles Sturman, CEO of TechWorks who is currently on a semiconductor trade mission to Canada.
This comes as the government is funding a £4.8m project to boost the number of semiconductor engineers and the design ecosystem in the UK following a damning report.
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“I think the government is recognising semiconductors are fundamentally important. On the other hand its not in the top three priorities,” Sturman tells eeNews Europe. “The departments, DSIT really get, industry is talking to them every day and they are listening. The problem is a the ministerial level there is a lot of stuff going on in the world.”
“The skills situation is not great. We knew it already, but they see that as shocking,” he said, “We still have strengths in mixed signal silicon and power electronics, in these areas the government really needs to get behind it and built supply chains.”
The Semiconductor Workforce Research Report identifies just 870 graduates a year entering the industry, which has plateaued in recent years. This is coupled with a high rate of engineers retiring, 39% over the next 15 years, or 10,000 engineers, and an uncertain position on international recruitment.
Perspective Economics (PE) and a consortium of advisors including the UK Electronic Skills Foundation (UKESF), TechWorks (TW) and the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) were commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to conduct the study.
“We have long championed skills development and the importance of building a future skills pipeline,” said Stewart Edmondson, Chief Executive at the UK ESF. “This is a thoroughly well researched report with detailed analysis. It highlights the scale of the challenge faced by our vital Semiconductor industry, and makes practical, actionable recommendations that collaboratively – working with government, industry and academia – we can implement to ensure a thriving and sustainable sector.”
The funding will see £3m for 300 bursaries to encourage electrical and electronic engineers to move into semiconductors, alongside specialist semiconductor content to raise awareness of the field, with a focus on courses that include semiconductor design and manufacturing.
There will also be £1.2 million for chip design training, with new chip design courses to teach practical chip design skills to undergraduates, postgraduates, and lecturers, as well as a feasibility study for new postgraduate conversion courses. This will be managed by TechWorks.
There will also be £550,000 for school outreach, giving 7,000 students aged 15–18 and 450 teachers hands-on semiconductor experience in partnership with local employers, helping raise awareness and diversify the future workforce. This programme will be focused on existing UK semiconductor clusters – such as Newport, Cambridge, and Glasgow – helping to strengthen these ecosystems and create long-term career opportunities.
“The Government’s commitment to build a robust pipeline of future semiconductor skills is fantastic news. The investment in future talent will help increase the size of our skilled semiconductor workforce, which will ultimately drive future innovation and investment in the sector,” said Edmonson.
“There is work going on for the next three to four years. Assuming this scale up first year goes well, I would be surprised if there is not a continuation,” said Sturman.
www.ukesf.org; www.techworks.org.uk
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