Tue, Aug 16, 2022 page12

• Semiconductor hiring slows amid labor shortage

  WIDENING THE FIELD: Human resources managers must drop prejudices regarding gender, appearance and age to find the best candidates, Micro Technology said

  • By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
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  The job market for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry remained tight this quarter, as hiring activity slowed from a record high last quarter, a survey released yesterday by online human resource firm 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) showed.

  Ongoing labor shortages have prompted local semiconductor firms to recruit more women and foreigners in Taiwan and in Southeast Asia, the job bank said.

  The talent gap in the first quarter reached 35,000 people per month, a surge of 39.8 percent from the same period last year, as the contactless economy and digital transformation shore up demand for semiconductors, 104 Job Bank said in its annual report on the issue.

  

  Jobseekers visit a job fair at the Taipei Expo Park’s Expo Dome on July 23.

  Photo: CNA

  The gap widened during the April-to-June period when semiconductor firms recruited 36,800 new staffers per month, it said.

  Although the monthly pace of recruiting lost some momentum this quarter to 33,000 last month and this month, the mismatch between supply and demand persists, it said.

  Jason Chin (晉麗明), a senior recruitment manager at 104 Job Bank, attributed the talent shortage to aggressive capacity expansion on the part of local chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), and chip tester and packager ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), as well as other tech firms.

  All of them have asked 104 Job Bank to help find thousands of mid and high-ranking managers and skilled employees, which required the job bank to widen its reach from Taiwan to foreign markets, Chin said, adding that women make up a growing number of the candidates.

  Local tech firms have relied on job poaching to mitigate talent shortages, but to little avail, and Taiwan’s low birthrate has made the situation worse, the job bank said.

  US DRAM maker Micron Technology Inc’s Taiwan operations said it has expanded recruitment in the past few years to Southeast Asian nations.

  Every year, Southeast Asia produces 20 to 25 percent of college graduates with majors in engineering, but only 15 percent end up with jobs in their fields, suggesting an ample talent pool, Micron Memory Taiwan Co (台灣美光) said.

  Today, women account for 22 percent of its 6,300 engineers and the proportion has risen to 44 percent among new hires in the past three years, it said.

  Human resource managers have to drop their prejudices and preferences associated with gender, appearance and age to recruit the best talent, Micron Taiwan said.

  Similarly, photolithography systems supplier ASML Holding NV’s Taiwan office said it has reached out to second-tier universities and colleges in Taiwan and abroad to address talent shortages, as job poaching is not a long-term solution.

  Aircraft maintenance engineers who lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic could be great candidates to join semiconductor firms, as both sectors require talent with a high degree of precision, ASML Technology Taiwan Ltd (台灣艾司摩爾) said.
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