Semiconductor firms to intensify training engineering students amid talent gap

Semiconductor companies in India are looking to intensify their focus on campus engagement and building up fresh talent as the industry grapples with a lack of skilled workers, reported The Economic Times.

As per the report, companies like Intel India, AMD, Applied Materials and Tessolve are teaming up students and employees to work on real-life projects, establishing labs in institutes like IIT-Bombay, driving industry-academia partnerships to conduct research in core design and AI training and sponsoring students pursuing research.

Addressing talent gap

AMD India last month launched a summer scholar programme for engineering graduates, under which 14 students from the Indian Institute of Science and the IITs of Madras, Bombay, Hyderabad, Kharagpur and Delhi are undergoing a 6-to-8-week residency programme at the company’s India R&D centres.

The students will be teaming up with engineers to work on real work projects.

“We also have several of our senior engineers working closely with a team of professors and researchers at IISc, Bengaluru to study heterogeneous computing including in the areas of core design, AI training, inference, and compilation. We sponsor students pursuing research in areas like low power designs, machine learning-based design optimisations, pruning and quantisation for ML models,” Fathima Farouk, HR head at AMD India, told Economic Times.

As per a report by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association, the country’s semiconductor sector is expected to more than double to $64 billion between 2021 and 2026.

Meanwhile, Intel India is investing in early talent through developing college graduates. The company has set up 250 data-centric labs in tier-2 and -3 colleges, driving research and innovation.

“Our college hiring ranges 35-40% of our overall recruitment, and we promote innovation and research by providing resources, facilities, and opportunities to students and professors,” Vijay Colaco, Intel India’s HR director told The Economic Times.

Similarly, As per The Economic Times, Applied Materials India has set up a university council to strengthen partnerships with universities to develop talent pipelines in new capabilities like process engineering, mechatronics, supply chain engineering, electrical engineering and AI/ML. The company has also set up two labs within IIT-Bombay, for nanoelectronics and chemistry and materials sciences.

“We have also launched a semiconductor certification course in collaboration with IIT-Bombay — a step towards enabling the talent ecosystem for the semiconductor industry in India,” Applied Materials India managing director Suraj Rengarajan told ET.

The firms are also looking to close the gender gap in the industry by developing female talent at the college level. Intel is working with women's engineering colleges for internship opportunities, runs sensitisation programmes on inclusive hiring and offers mentorship opportunities for students.

Similarly Applied Materials is also sponsoring women centric events like the Society of Women Engineers to increase representation of women in hardware engineering, besides running engagements with all-women colleges and universities.

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