Workforce Development

To attract and cultivate new talent across the microelectronics industry, virtual SEMICON West 2020 offered wide-ranging career insights for engineering students seeking that vital first job and young employees embarking on their careers. They learned about overcoming challenges at work and gained a competitive edge by connecting with industry leaders for insider knowledge. These are just some examples of how the SEMI Foundation and the SEMI Workforce Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives serve as a springboard to careers in the industry and help close its talent gap.Following are experiences of aspiring engineers at SEMICON West and career lessons presented to help them shape the future of our semiconductor industry.Jump-Starting Careers at SEMICON West 2020More than 600 students from over 50 colleges and universities across the Unites States joined SEMICON West 2020 to jump-start their careers in the semiconductor industry. With free access to SEMI’s first virtual expo, they connected with recruiters and companies in the exhibit hall, and sponged up insights from speakers about digital internships, job opportunities, and key trends shaping the digital future.“It was almost overwhelming,” said Jason Wong, 20, a junior at San Jose State University working toward an advanced degree in mechanical engineering. “It was kind of like an engineering student’s dream for contacts and knowledge all on one platform.”Wong visited about 15 booths in the online exhibit hall to speak with company representatives about his field of interest – microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).“MEMS is a pretty niche area, so it was really surprising how many companies were there in this category alone,” Wong said.Through the expo’s chat tool, Wong made some solid contacts and has followed up with several engineers via email, LinkedIn and Zoom meetings, cultivating what he believes will be “some long-lasting and valuable connections.”“I’m not really looking for a job at the moment, but I hope to get an internship at some point,” Wong said. “With the current (COVID-19) outbreak, a lot of events with opportunities to interact are no longer available, so this was an enlightening and useful experience for me I plan to attend again.”On the other side of the country in Virginia, Devayani Pawar, 23, found it easy to network at SEMICON West. She especially appreciated the free pass for students and practical sessions in the Smart Workforce Pavilion tailored to help early-career job seekers find opportunities, build contacts, and polish resumes.She was drawn to the Smart Manufacturing Pavilion because of her skills and interests in toolmaking and wafers.“I understand manufacturing and it’s a hot field right now,” said Pawar, who recently earned her master’s degree in data science from George Mason University. “It’s interesting to me how such tiny components can do so much powerful work.”“A lot of people my age aren’t very aware of the microchip industry – they’re mostly focused on information technology and companies like Google, Amazon, or Facebook,” Pawar said.After landing an internship at Micron Technology analyzing wafers and working in clean rooms, she was wowed by the potential of nanotechnology. Pawar learned about the strong demand for data scientists in semiconductor manufacturing. After making connections at SEMICON West and absorbing information, she now has a better handle on career opportunities.“The recruiters and other contacts I made have been so responsive, and now I have a better understanding of use cases and what companies are seeking,” she said.A Day in the Life of an EngineerRight after college in 2017, Erika Gabrielle Hansen joined Applied Materials as an engineer. She told management she wanted to travel, learn about the “big picture” behind the company’s products, and work with customers.In her presentation A Day in the Life of an Engineer at the SEMICON West Smart Workforce Pavilion, she recalled a whirlwind of unforeseen opportunities, soul-searching challenges, and the rewards of personal, professional, and community growth. She also candidly shared lessons learned about pride, collaboration, and resilience.Her journey began when she had the opportunity to share her aspirations for her at career at Applied and landed a dual role as a process engineer and customer account technologist.In her job as a process engineer, Hansen puts her materials engineering degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo to good use analyzing data, solving technical problems, developing new processes to meet customer requirements, and working with cutting-edge technologies. At one moment she might be in a clean-room laboratory wearing a bunny suit doing hands-on work with tools. In another, she could be videoconferencing with hardware, software, and systems engineers worldwide, or preparing a report for upper management.“I was very nervous at first as a process engineer,” Hansen said. “I was the only person in my group who didn’t have a Ph.D. and tried to compensate for that by doing things on my own and not asking for help.”After making a few mistakes, she began to turn to her team for their expertise and sharing the results of her work – both good and bad – with them.“Having humility to ask for help and not let pride get in the way was a huge learning point for me,” she said.As a customer account technologist, she has made a dozen trips to customer sites in four countries to implement new processes or resolve technical issues. By seeing tools in action, she now has what she calls a “whole picture” perspective on their effectiveness, while enjoying the camaraderie of colleagues and sampling local cuisines, sites, and scenes around the world.At one point, she was assigned to lead an international team to resolve an issue with a major customer – her greatest challenge yet and her first time in such a role. She struggled to overcome language barriers and eventually told her boss she might not be the best person to lead the project. He promised to provide more support, and her team went on to resolve the customer’s problem.“I picked myself up, reached out to people with international experience, and changed my communication style,” Hansen said. “I learned it’s okay to be uncomfortable, to flex my leadership style, and be resilient, which is a learned skill.”Building a Better Network: Crucial ConnectionsAndrew Carnegie, one of history’s richest industrialists and most generous philanthropists, said 85 percent of a person’s success is based on “interpersonal relationships” and “abilities to be a human being.” Professional skills account for just 15 percent of success.While advancing to her current role as Chief Marketing Officer for FormFactor, Amy Leong found this advice critical to her career trajectory. Just like the challenge of raising a strong family, building a successful career “takes a village… you can’t do it alone,” she said in her Smart Workforce Pavilion presentation Building a Better Network: Crucial Connections.Outperforming expectations might be essential early in one’s career to get promotions, raises, and the attention, but that mindset goes only so far.“As seniority levels increase, people already know you’re a phenomenal performer and expect nothing less,” Leong said. “So, the higher you go the more vital it is to spend almost a disproportionate amount of effort on building relationships.”Building your network isn’t about the quantity of one’s business cards or LinkedIn connections; it’s about building quality relationships with mutual benefits over the long run.“We need to be smart about return on investment when building our professional network,” she said. “You help me, and I help you. It’s win-win horse trading.”And the most important factor in career success? For Leong, a strong family foundation has mattered most.“Family comes first,” said Leong, who has twin teenagers. “Take care of the ones you love. Check in with your family whenever you can. Family relationships are bound by blood. Thanks to my retired parents and a helpful husband, we tough it through.”She reemphasized the importance of mutually beneficial relationships, noting “A rising tide will lift all boats.”Fostering Talent for the Industry’s FutureDeveloping young talent and future leaders in microelectronics stands as a persistent and growing need – and a critical challenge to realizing expected growth. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and augmented/virtual reality are expected to impact a huge range of markets, leading to projections that the semiconductor industry will double in size in the next 10 to 15 years.The opportunities for growth and technologies that promise to improve the quality of human life worldwide are breathtaking. The industry’s talent pool will need to scale accordingly, magnifying the importance of expanding industry-wide programs such as the Workforce Development and DEI initiatives that the SEMI Foundation are building. Learn more about how you and your company can get involved with these initiatives on the SEMI Foundation website.Shari Liss is executive director of the SEMI Foundation. She oversees SEMI Workforce Development programs from K-12 through re-skilling for veterans.

Internships provide a wealth of benefits for students and corporate managers as they work side-by-side in a real-world environment. Students gain practical, hands-on experience and employers get an infusion of fresh energy, diverse ideas and eager talent.The full value of an on-site internship – the ultimate job interview – flowers when it leads to full-time employment.That was before “everything went crazy,” said Tina Revels, university relations manager at KLA, during her Smart Workforce Pavilion presentation The New Reality: Digital Internships at the virtual SEMICON West 2020. Today, amid COVID-19 restrictions, everyone must adjust to a new reality – a virtual reality. Part of this substantial shift has led to internships going digital.“Internships are more important than ever as we shift to a virtual reality,” Revels said, explaining how today’s job seekers and companies alike can make sure digital internships sustain the same mutual benefits as traditional ones.At companies turning to digital internships, managers need to do more upfront planning to re-create real-world experiences that make interns “feel engaged and connected with one another,” Revels said. For prospective interns, digital internships require greater independence, self-management discipline, and responsibility than traditional internships – all critical skills that can lead to permanent employment.Watch Revels’ full presentation below to learn how to get the most out of digital internships. Register for virtual SEMICON West 2020 to access the additional Smart Workforce and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sessions, which covered dynamic topics such as job searches during uncertain times, creating a culture of inclusivity, supplier diversity, and hiring military veterans. The content is available until September 20, 2020.Learn more about the SEMI Foundation and how its Workforce Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives are helping build the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain’s talent pipeline.Bryson Gauff is program manager for SEMI High Tech U.

SEMI Korea is back on track. New confirmed COVID-19 cases in Korea now average about 50 per day – with more than half from abroad – after peaking in early March, setting the stage for the Seoul office’s first on-site program since the global coronavirus outbreak began.For four days in late July, SEMI Korea held the Semiconductor Process Technology Tutorial (SPT Tutorial) at COEX, home to SEMICON Korea. Nearly 180 university students and chip engineers gathered for two semiconductor manufacturing courses (beginner and intermediate) taught by professors from schools including Hongik and Sungkyunkwan Universities and senior engineers from major semiconductor makers. The beginner’s course covered the end-to-end chipmaking process and the intermediate class examined key phases of semiconductor manufacturing including silicon wafer preparation, cleaning and CMP, lithography, etch, metrology and inspection, implantation and diffusion, deposition and packaging.Social distancing, now part of daily life in Korea, and other protective measures implemented by SEMI Korea to ensure the safety and well-being of the attendees and lecturers made the event possible. SEMI Korea followed best COVID-19 practices including the following.Step 1. Site check of COVID-19 prevention systemCOEX is amply equipped with sanitizers and thermal imaging cameras, with medical staff available in case of an emergency. COEX also constantly monitors air quality at the entire facility while keeping it well-ventilated. Step 2. Screening of registrants Online medical questionnaire review: After attendees completed a SEMI Korea medical questionnaire and submitted it prior to registration, SEMI Korea checked the health status of each attendee and whether they had recently traveled overseas to a high-risk COVID-19 region. Registrant identification: Upon each registrant’s arrival at COEX, SEMI Korea confirmed that the identification of each attendees matched the registrant who completed the questionnaire. Temperature measurement and sanitizer use: SEMI Korea required all attendees to apply hand sanitizer before entering the classroom and measured the body temperature of each. Anyone running a temperature would have been denied entry. Mask Wearing: All attendees were required to wear mask socially distance during check-in and the lectures. Attendees line up for registration while social distancing. Step 3. Badge Distribution and Classroom Entry: Once attendees had passed through all the safety protocols, they were given badges and admitted to the lecture room. Each classroom table was equipped with acrylic desktop social distancing shields to contain the respiratory aerosols of the students. In addition, only one-way passage was allowed through entrances and exits to minimize contact among participants. Acrylic desktop shields helped with social distancing. "Thanks to SEMI's thorough COVID-19 prevention plan for COVID-19, both the speakers and attendees participated in the tutorial confident that the environment was safe,” said speaker Professor Taesung Kim of Sungkyunkwan University. “I look forward to seeing SEMI continue to take these precautions to help the semiconductor industry remain connected and grow.”SEMI Korea moves forward with nine on-site events in 2020Webinars will continue to serve as important forums for SEMI Korea to help members connect, collaborate and innovate while preventing the spread of COVID-19. But to help the industry grow and prosper, SEMI Korea’s on-site events – which have always and will continue to make safety the top priority – will remain robust.In 2020, SEMI Korea will host nine on-site events including the MEMS Sensor Forum and SMC Korea. We appreciate the industry’s support and cooperation as the world continues to battle COVID-19 and look forward to connecting with members in webinars and at on-site events again soon!Jaegwan Shim is a marketing specialist at SEMI Korea.

What do you do when much of the U.S. is under lockdown and university students want insights into career opportunities in the microelectronics industry including how to secure jobs?Go virtual.More than 100 students from 30 universities hopped online recently to attend Find Your Future in Microelectronics, the SEMI Foundation’s first webinar. The students learned about the industry’s impact on the future of tech and available career paths and discovered how to take advantage of the Foundation’s university programs. They also submitted their resumes as part of joining SEMI’s student fellow network in hopes of engaging with employers and exploring available job opportunities.And if the students’ questions were a telling sign of their engagement, the event showed that they were fully tuned in. Tim Brosnihan, executive director of the MEMS Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), Erika Hansen, an Applied Materials process engineer, and Cristina Sandoval, the event coordinator and moderator, fielded a whopping 65 questions, many of them about job opportunities, career paths and suggested courses of study. A sample of the questions asked: Q: Is the industry still hiring during these uncertain times?A: Yes! The microelectronics industry is growing and will continue to grow over the next 10 years. There are many job opportunities to be had in the industry and many of our member companies are hiring.Q: What kind of degrees does the microelectronics industry look for?A: Generally, the industry primarily hires graduates with STEM degrees. Chemical, electrical, nano, mechanical, and materials engineering are some of the top majors the industry hires from along with chemistry, physics, and mathematic degrees. That being said, the industry needs talent from all majors. That includes business, finance, human resources and marketing.Q: How can I get connected to the opportunities provided by SEMI?A: You can sign up to connect to our employers and opportunities at www.semi.org/join-edu. Once you submit your information, you will be kept up to date on the latest events and opportunities offered by SEMI and our member companies.Q: Any advice on what to do if your offer has been rescinded?A: Don’t limit yourself when it comes to opportunities. If your offer has been rescinded, don’t give up! Share your situation with your LinkedIn network, an invaluable resource full of contacts that can help you learn about job opportunities. You never know what you will love once you enter the workforce, so keep yourself open and don’t limit the positions or fields that you interview for. Rescinding an offer is always a very difficult decision for an organization, so make sure that you exit the relationship positively. You never know who you will cross paths in the future.Erika delved into the day in the life of an engineer and advised students on ways to find jobs in our industry. Students interacted with Erika, eager to learn how she balanced customer needs with working in the lab. She said she enjoys that duality because it continues to challenge her, allowing her to grow her abilities as a professional.When it comes to breaking into the industry, working in college or through internships and direct-hire opportunities after graduating are good ways to do so. And the students can get their feet in the door with degrees at various levels and across a wide range of disciplines. There is no set formula for success. Learners, she said, will find a place in the industry.With workforce development a key industry initiative, the SEMI Foundation will be rolling out more virtual programs and events to help keep university students and the microelectronics industry connected. Look for details on a virtual job fair we’re planning.We look forward to seeing you online!Shari Liss is executive director of the SEMI Foundation. Shari can be reached at [email protected].

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, the world has been flocking online – to connect, to share stories, and, for those who can, to continue to work to help keep the wheels of economies turning. With its shift away from in-person events, the SEMI Foundation, too, has found new ways to connect with members and talent. We have started to develop online content for high-school and university students to maintain engagement with these vital pools of future talent. As we build our online presence, we will also explore providing support for reskilling employees, veterans and other target hire groups to help meet microelectronics industry’s talent needs.This strategic shift involves repurposing and transforming existing programs. One key focus area as we evolve our work has been SEMI High Tech U (HTU), a hands-on industry exposure program the SEMI Foundation launched in 2001. The program aims to gather high-school students at member company work sites to learn about the science behind semiconductor technology and various career paths. We are working to offer this career education opportunity online to better connect with students and educators all over the world, regardless of their proximity to a member company. This new guided online journey through the manufacture of a silicon chip will allow users to learn about the science, technology, equipment and companies needed to create this amazing device that is the heart of our digital world.The SEMI Foundation’s open houses catering to university students are also going online. The virtual events will give students a chance to learn about the critical technologies emerging from the microelectronics industry and available career opportunities. They will also be able to submit their resumes for open positions at our member companies.We’re excited as we gear up to launch these online programs in order to expand our reach and impact and to support the critical workforce development needs of our member companies. As we begin to expand our online content, we will be recording our educational webinars and gathering testimonials from corporate leaders and offering both as free resource to members, students and potential hires. These digital resources will help our members share talent development best practices and give students deeper insights into the industry.If you would like to support these initiatives as the SEMI Foundation continues to help the industry attract, develop and retain talent in ways that no single member company can alone, you may do so in a number of ways: Volunteer to review educational content for accuracy and relevance Sign up to be a speaker or panelist at upcoming virtual events Share industry informational videos Highlight industry technologies that are making a difference in the world Showcase how your company is addressing STEM education and workforce development Sponsor an upcoming SEMI Foundation workforce development event To get involved, please contact Shari Liss, executive director of the SEMI Foundation, at [email protected].

Skills are the key to the future. It is thanks to its skilled workforce that Europe will reap the benefits of the green and digital transitions and remain competitive. At the same time, upskilling and reskilling is a clear social policy because it ensures that workers can more easily navigate from one job to another.Microelectronics is at the crossroads of many sectors, such as the automotive industry, manufacturing, health, and energy. The European electronics industry is facing an acute shortage of skills in all tiers of its value chain, particularly in electronics design, both digital and analog, and in system and software engineering. A sustainable provision of qualified personnel is key to maintain competitiveness and innovation leadership. Yet, companies in this area suffer from a critical shortage of engineers with competence in microelectronics technology and design. The rapid evolution of the electronics industry calls for a continuous update of skills and knowhow.Vocational education and training has an important role to master these challenges. Modern, inclusive and dynamic vocational education and training programmes are a pre-requisite to remain competitive in the digital age. We must support agile partnerships to develop skills for smart industrial specialisation and the green and digital transitions. Everybody must be on board to shape the workforce transformation in Europe: industry, social partners, education and training organisations, as well as policymakers. The Blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills launched in 2016 is an excellent model for strategic collaboration and will be extended.The Commission has recently proposed an update of our successful Skills Agenda for Europe. One key element is the new Pact for Skills, in order for all stakeholders to generate new concrete commitments to invest in upskilling and reskilling. It will help us to respond to the extent and speed of change in the economy and society. I warmly invite the microelectronics industry to participate in the Pact.I welcome the fact that SEMI and its 19 partners from 14 countries launched METIS – MicroElectronics Training, Industry and Skills Erasmus+ Project – in November 2019. METIS will receive 4 million EUR EU funding to implement a comprehensive strategy with a view to identify and fill skills shortages, to tackle skills mismatches, and to support upskilling and reskilling in order to address the challenges of the future of work and digitalisation.Nicolas Schmit is European Commissioner Jobs and Social Rights.

High-tech industry clusters in the bustling northern Taiwan port city of Hsinchu look set for an upgrade. Long a world-class hub of the semiconductor and optoelectronic technology industries, Hsinchu City is laying out plans to work with SEMI to attract more international companies, generate more jobs, promote Hsinchu’s development and help grow Taiwan’s microelectronics industry. High-tech heavyweights such as TSMC, UMC, MediaTek, Realtek, and AUO are all headquartered in The Windy City. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a leading Taiwan research center and incubator, also calls Hsinchu home, and the city boasts one of the highest concentrations of educational institutions in the region, a roster that includes National Chiao Tung and National Tsing Hua universities. Hsinchu’s thriving relations with these industry, academic and research partners have made it a hotbed of innovation, with numerous large Taiwanese and foreign companies having opened local offices. No less than these partners, the city – like SEMI – is committed to innovation.In a recent visit to the SEMI Taiwan office in Taipei, a Hsinchu City government team led by mayor Lin Chih-Chien, met with Terry Tsao, global SEMI chief marketing officer and president of SEMI Taiwan, to explore collaboration opportunities in areas such as technology subsidies, policy, education, and infrastructure. The meeting built on a relationship between the city and SEMI Taiwan that sprouted after SEMI executives and Hsinchu officials joined ITRI to host the Autonomous Driving System Platform in Open Fields kick-off ceremony – an initiative to accelerate Taiwan’s adoption of smart transportation technologies – at SEMICON Taiwan 2019.At the meeting, Mayor Lin highlighted that Hsinchu has long attracted high-tech companies by cultivating a business-friendly climate through incentives such as subsidies for infrastructure buildouts. He hopes to work with SEMI to promote to members the benefits of setting up local offices in Hsinchu City.With both Hsinchu’s high-tech clusters and SEMI’s global members deeply reliant on skilled workers for sustaining innovation and growth, Tsao and Mayor Lin agreed that inspiring students to pursue an education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is vital to building a high-tech talent pool. One collaboration opportunity SEMI Taiwan is eyeing is to launch Taiwan’s first SEMI High Tech U (HTU) program in Hsinchu to spark the interest of school-age children through STEM educational activities at school camps or art and cultural centers. SEMI’s STEM discovery program offers hands-on activities and experiential learning led by industry volunteers. Since 2002, HTU has reached some 8,000 high-school students in 12 U.S. states and nine countries.Emmy Yi is a marketing specialist at SEMI Taiwan.

We live in the New Industrial Age. Manufacturing is undergoing a profound transformation, driven not only by technological (e.g. Artificial Intelligence, robotics, IoT) but also societal, market and regulatory developments that have fundamental implications for the workforce competency requirements. How can education and training systems keep pace with this unprecedented change? How does a future-proof curriculum look like?This topic has been extensively addressed by the Curriculum Guidelines for Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) initiative (2017-2019) of the Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) and DG GROW of the European Commission. Carried out by PwC, the initiative focuses on the promising ways of organising learning experiences of individuals and groups in the New Industrial Age. The initiative produced the Curriculum Guidelines 4.0 that aim to equip all key stakeholder groups with the knowledge base needed to transform the existing curricula.The guidelines were developed based on the extensive state-of-play analysis and active stakeholder contribution by means of expert workshops, pan-European online surveys, in-depth interviews and individual expert consultations. All key stakeholder groups were involved in the preparation of the guidelines, including the representatives of education and training providers, industry, policymakers and supporting structures (e.g. industry associations, cluster organisations and trade unions), as well as learners themselves. SEMI was among the key contributors. The guidelines were presented to the public at the EU Conference on Skills for Industry: Curriculum Guidelines 4.0 in Brussels on 26 November, 2019.The guidelines aim to be applicable for both designing fundamentally new educational offers and/or advancing the existing curricula, depending on the level of required change. They address non-tertiary vocational education and training, higher education and on-the-job training for the manufacturing-related domains.The guidelines follow a holistic approach covering a broad spectrum of dimensions relevant to curriculum design and implementation, namely: Strategy: defining core values, commitments, opportunities, resources and capabilities of an educational/training institution Collaboration: promoting practices that move beyond the typical institutional collaboration patterns and engaging individuals and communities Content: defining the nature of educational content, including specific principles related to the actual content of the curricula Learning environment: creating specific environment during the program, e.g. stimulating multidisciplinary orientation, design thinking, team spirit, collective problem-solving, risk-taking behaviour, experimental approaches Delivery mechanisms: establishing means by which learners experience and access education/training; paying special attention to technology-enabled learning Assessment: identifying most appropriate forms of assessment, including advantages and disadvantages Recognition: exploring appropriate formal and informal ways of recognition Quality: identifying the determinants of education training quality: what makes learners’ and employers’ perception different? Based on the results of the pan-European survey, the four key elements that require the most substantial change are Strategy, Collaboration, Learning Environment and Content.The guidelines will be tested in practice in the context of METIS (Microelectronics Training, Industry and Skills), a project recently launched by SEMI and 19 partners from 14 countries. Aligned with the Curriculum Guidelines 4.0, METIS will establish a Microelectronics Observatory and Skills Council consisting of representatives from industry, academia, NGOs, think tanks and government. The consortium will develop a New Skills Strategy for the microelectronics industry in Europe with a focus on raising occupational profiles and skills critical to the future of the sector.METIS will enable a new industry-driven curriculum with 43 modules integrating online education and work-based learning in microelectronics design and manufacturing. Training will focus on chip design, system design, basic of manufacturing and key competencies. METIS is a Sector Skills Alliance co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program, receiving 4 million EUR funding from the EU.Preparing students for lifelong learning, offering Big Picture education, creating effective learning ecosystems, applying problem-based and student-centric approaches, shifting from human-robot interactions towards human-machine collaboration – these are just some examples of the curriculum guidelines principles highlighted in the guidelines.The guidelines aim to offer key highlights, indicate a variety of possibilities and identify sources for more detailed information and inspiration. The guidelines by no means aim to serve as a standardised detailed recipe for organising education and training processes, as there is no one best way to approach it. The diversity of learners’ needs and contexts per definition implies a need for multitude of approaches, which could also be combined in their own unique/customised education and training solutions.The Curriculum Guidelines 4.0 will be publicly released in January 2020, and will be available on the EU Publications. More information about this and related initiatives can be found at https://skills4industry.eu/. Dr. Kristina Dervojeda leads the PwC Innovation Research Centre in the Netherlands.

Once an unpopular career destination for university graduates in Korea, the semiconductor industry has been a plum target since the rise of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as global leaders and key growth engines for the Korean economy. The industry’s outsize role in innovation of cutting-edge technologies and applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and autonomous driving has added to the appeal.The draw of a career in chip manufacturing is even stronger when new graduates from Korean universities consider the semiconductor industry’s rapid growth of 22.2% in 2017 and 15.5% in 2018, according to VLSI Research. Yet, even before earning their degrees, many students are unclear about steps they need to take to prepare for a career in the industry and the type of work available to them.These questions and concerns were on the top of the minds of 250 students who gathered at COEX in Seoul in mid-November for SEMI Campus Outreach, a half day of career insights from global chip companies including Lam Research, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and KLA along with leading semiconductor companies in Korea such as SEMES, EO technics, JUSUNG ENGINEERING, DONGJIN SEMICHEM, PSK and Wonik IPS. Keynote - Inhak Harry Suh, CEO, Lam Research Korea 250 students gathered at Campus Outreach Campus Outreach keynote speaker Inhak Harry Suh, CEO of Lam Research Korea, stressed that talented new graduates hold the key to leading the semiconductor industry into the Industry 4.0 era and the next phase of growth. He urged the students to look for a company that treats its employees with respect and fairness and to enjoy their work. Joining the executives in inspiring the students, field and service engineers highlighted the semiconductor industry’s strong growth potential, described their job responsibilities and the skills students need to develop to thrive, and offered guidance on subjects to study in school to best prepare students for jobs in the industry. On the recruiting side, human resources representatives at the event provided overviews of their companies and skills they’re looking for as they court talent. Campus Outreach sponsors At SEMICON Korea 2020 – Feb. 5-7 at COEX in Seoul – SEMI will continue to cultivate industry talent at the Workforce Development Pavilion. To help the industry solve its critical talent shortage, the pavilion will offer university students interviews with industry experts and tutorials on semiconductor production as the students explore career paths and are mentored by engineers during the Meet the Experts program. And with a diverse workforce recognized as a competitive advantage, the Women-in-Technology session will gather leaders to discuss how the industry can improve diversity.Jaegwan Shim is a marketing specialist at SEMI Korea.

SEMI is excited to recognize Debbie Gustafson, CEO of Energetiq Technology as the SEMI Spotlight on Women honoree for Q3 2019!Spotlight on SEMI Women celebrates the many accomplished women who work in the global microelectronics industry. Nominees in the quarterly spotlight include women who are beacons of knowledge, leaders of organizations and initiatives, hidden heroes and innovators in our industry. They are volunteers, protectors, intellectual disruptors and activists. Learn how you can nominate a woman for Spotlight on SEMI Women.Debbie sat down with us to discuss her journey as a leader and her belief in the importance of creating an inclusive workforce.SEMI: What skills have set you apart and led you to your career success?Gustafson: I’m good at what I do – listening and understanding customers is at the core of my success. You should know and also ask for what you want. If I was working towards a promotion, I always let my manager know where I wanted to go and asked about the expectations for me to get to the next level. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – during my journey in becoming a leader I had some extremely strong mentors along the way, helping me to navigate the industry. We make mistakes and learn from them, but having a mentor can really help you figure out those areas of weakness sooner rather than later. I credit these skills and mindset for our successful acquisition by Hamamatsu Photonics. When I was asked to move from the COO role to the CEO role at Energetiq, I realized that the only way we would be successful in this huge endeavor was if I had the right understanding of both our needs as an organization, and the needs of our future partner.SEMI: You mentioned the importance of mentors. Can you recount a time that your mentor helped you succeed?Gustafson: One of my first mentors taught me how to be successful in Japan during a time when women weren’t really present in the business side of the workforce. Going into a new culture, there are a lot of nuances. My mentor prepared me by helping me understand the behaviors that I would need to establish and let me take the lead as the expert. As a result, I was able to earn the respect of the customer and the Japanese market became part of our growth. I believe that my mentor’s preparation helped me getting there much faster.SEMI: Did you always want to be an engineer?Gustafson: I came to a crossroads as I approached the end of high school. I had an interest in engineering and automotive design in particular and appreciated the stability that a technical career could provide. I also had a passion for dance and had eyes towards becoming a dancer on Broadway. In the end, the idea of job security won out and I started my journey as a mechanical engineer. I was one of three women in my major, so I realized early on that I was entering a male-dominated field. After graduation I landed a job in the HVAC space. From there I moved into a variety of roles, including a sales job, that helped me realize that I enjoyed working in the semiconductor industry and that I had a passion for helping my customers.SEMI: Can you tell us about the changes you have implemented at Energetiq Technology to create a culture of inclusivity?Gustafson: My door is always open – even as the CEO. What gets me excited every morning is helping people to be successful. It’s not just about women, or minorities, or young people – it’s about everyone. We need to change as an industry to foster success and give everyone the opportunity to succeed. You can’t say you’re going to change as an organization and then not implement programs to help foster that change. I knew that we needed to find ways to get people to join and to stay – that’s the challenge. At Energetiq we have implemented a mindset of inclusivity in many of our programs.We have unconscious bias training that everyone takes regardless of job level. We’ve implemented a flexible working environment and provide sick time to help our employees have work-life balance. We are an employer that realizes the world is changing – we offer paternity leave as well as maternity leave and do everything in our power to support individuals during their major life events. Energetiq supports Employee Resource Groups, and we host a quarterly diversity luncheon where we encourage all employees to participate in open dialogue. As a company we continue to try and find ways to promote everyone’s success.SEMI: How do you feel the microelectronics industry is doing in terms of attracting and retaining diverse talent?Gustafson: The semiconductor industry has done a lot in the recent past but there is still a lot of work to be done. I think all the right things are starting to happen, and we are moving towards attracting more diversity into our organizations. We have been shifting our company culture to highlight that the industry is an exciting place to work. The progress has been tremendous and there are more opportunities ahead of us to take advantage of. People are just starting to acknowledge the changes that need to happen, and we are striving to create flexible work environments that are conducive to inclusivity. Diversity is not just going to happen – we need to change the culture in our organizations for diversity to flourish. The industry mindset is shifting, and I am looking forward to seeing where we go next. I am going to help wherever I can to help keep us moving in the right direction.SEMI: Are there other ways outside of your work at Energetiq Technology that you are influencing the mindset towards diversity in our industry?Gustafson: Volunteering my time outside of my job to try and change the attitude and the culture of the industry is extremely important to me. Aside from providing mentorship, I am involved with a number of committees and boards across the industry. I am always vocal among my C-level peers about how our industry needs to foster a diverse and inclusive workforce. I really like working with other people to find solutions as I don’t know all the answers. I like to get insight into how we can make this happen and I like to hear about what works and what doesn’t from other leaders. The goal is to allow people to feel comfortable with who they are at work.Cristina Sandoval is manager of Workforce Development at SEMI.