As India strives to establish itself as a semiconductor manufacturing hub, the industry will create demand for 12 lakh jobs across the sector as manufacturing evolves and design functions solidify further, said Jaya Jagadish, Country Head of AMD India, and Chairperson of the Semicon Talent Building Committee (TBC).

The talent pool requirement is for various functions, which include engineers, operators, and technicians among others. “The TBC looked at the roadmap for the semiconductor industry in India, the year-on-year demand and growth in every sector was studied to realize there is a cumulative need for about 12 lakh folks within India,” Jagadish told businessline. 

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Particularly, the chip design sector itself needs 2,75,000 personnel, which includes the requirement for undergrads, diplomas, masters, Ph.D., and postdoctorals. Jagadish said, “Talent forms the base of the industry, and India has a unique advantage of this talent availability, as we have more than half a million engineering students graduating every year.” 

Jagadish notes that the design sector in India, which started about two decades ago has evolved significantly, with every major semiconductor player having a design centre in India today, and playing a crucial role. Manufacturing albeit needs capital investment along with talent, to develop, and the various incentives being floated out, will help accelerate the growth.

Even as there is abundant talent availability, the job readiness of the talent pool is an issue. Jagadish noted that there is a gap in terms of skill sets and in order to address the same various incentives and initiatives are being implemented. For instance, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), based on the recommendation of TBC has made curriculum changes and introduced coursework across 300 engineering colleges. 

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Although these are long-term efforts to address the issue, in the short term, various reskilling and upskilling programs are being rolled out. Additionally, students are also being equipped with practical experiences, according to Jagadish. She also noted that in order to build a strong talent landscape, collaboration between industry, academia, and government is necessary, and currently there is an active effort from all the stakeholders for the cause. 

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