THE PHILIPPINES will have to build up its contingent of graduate-level workers to attract investment from companies working with advanced technology, industry officials and academic said.
In a briefing on Wednesday, Louis P. Alarcón, head of the Microelectronics Department at the University of the Philippines, said neighboring countries have been scooping up investments in advanced technology.
“Our severe lack of graduate-level manpower is limiting our ability to attract investments in advanced technology areas, as these investments seem to pass us by,” Mr. Alarcon said.
He cited the recent announcement of Microsoft Corp. and Amazon Web Services investments in Malaysia. Microsoft and Nvidia Corp. have also announced ventures in Indonesia, while Apple has invested in Vietnam.
According to Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. President Danilo C. Lachica, only 10% of the approximately 800,000 graduates each year in the Philippines are engineers.
“However, most of these are in construction … and even if they are ECE (electronics and communication engineering) graduates, they do not necessarily go to the semiconductor industry,” he said.
“Some of them go to telecommunications and business process outsourcing companies … but what our members are really saying is that there’s not enough supply,” he added.
He said Taiwan produces 10 times more engineering graduates than the Philippines.
Board of Investments (BoI) Executive Director for Industry Development Services Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa noted the decline in the number of those enrolling in engineering courses.
She said that there is a need to educate students on the opportunities in the electronics track and cited the need to fund scholarships for the information technology-savvy.
Earlier this year, the BoI announced a target to turn out 128,000 engineers for the semiconductor industry.
“The main strategy for achieving 128,000 by 2028 is really looking at the specific requirements in the industry and then mapping out interventions, particularly at the technician, undergraduate, and doctorate levels,” she said.
To address the need for a skilled workforce, especially in integrated circuit (IC) design, Mr. Alarcon said the government needs to create a national graduate program in IC design, as well as a national faculty fellowship program, a national research fund, and a national center for IC. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
