Chi Mei executive calls for cultivation of more talent in optoelectronics field

The greatest challenge faced by the nation's optoelectronics industry is the lack of a sufficient talent pool to meet the pace of the sector's development, a Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) executive said over the weekend.

Frank Liao (廖錦祥), chairman of Chi Mei Optoelectronics, the nation's second-largest supplier of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels for TVs and computers, expressed his concerns on Saturday while presiding over the inauguration of a building at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, built with funds donated by the group.

Liao pointed out that the nation's thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD production value has exceeded that of Japan's and of South Korea's, but lags far behind the two countries in terms of research and development resources, core facilities and the number of patents granted.

Noting that nobody could win all the time in the international market, Liao said that Taiwan should increase its talent pool, enhance professional training and boost technical and innovative capabilities in the optoelectronics sector, so as to meet the overwhelming demand for high-quality, low-cost industrial production and to sharpen the sector's competitive edge.

Optoelectronics has replaced semiconductors as the most popular industry for local high-tech staff, a local job bank indicated.

Major flat-panel display makers such as Chi Mei and AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) are recruiting more research and development personnel, process engineers and equipment maintenance engineers in the wake of rising production, according to the 104 Job Bank.