Semiconductor Talent Development of 150,000 Over 10 Years... Increasing Quotas and Relaxing Teacher Qualifications

Increase University Quotas by 45,000 and Foster 105,000 in Convergence Majors
Expand Vocational High School and University (Graduate) Quotas by 5,702 by 2027
Regulations Eased to Allow Quota Expansion if Teacher Securing Rate Is Met
Qualification Requirements Relaxed to Facilitate Hiring of Semiconductor Expert Teachers
New Semiconductor Specialized Universities Designated, Short-Term Intensive Semiconductor Courses Operated

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The government has unveiled a plan to nurture 150,000 semiconductor talents over the next 10 years. Universities that meet the teacher recruitment rate will be allowed to increase their enrollment quotas, and existing departments will be able to temporarily increase quotas through a 'contract quota system.' Qualification requirements for utilizing semiconductor field experts as professors will also be relaxed.

On the 19th, the Ministry of Education and related ministries reported the 'Semiconductor Talent Nurturing Plan' at the Cabinet meeting. Led by the Ministry of Education, government ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and specialized institutions formed a special team to discover policy tasks and prepare talent nurturing plans for advanced industries such as semiconductors.

The government aims to nurture 45,000 talents through university enrollment quotas and 105,000 talents by utilizing existing students through convergence majors, totaling 150,000 semiconductor-related talents.

According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, as the semiconductor industry expands, an estimated 127,000 additional personnel will be needed over the next 10 years. In particular, the demand growth rate for PhD (6.8%) and Master's (5.7%) level personnel is high. Currently, the number of new graduates from vocational high schools and universities employed in the semiconductor industry is about 5,000. Assuming 50,000 are supplied over 10 years, there will be a shortage of more than 77,000 compared to demand. Due to significant restrictions on establishing or expanding semiconductor departments and difficulties in securing semiconductor major faculty, the supply has been insufficient despite the surge in demand for personnel.

Increasing Semiconductor Major Quotas to Supply 45,000 over 10 Years

The Ministry of Education aims to secure 45,000 talents by 2031 by increasing enrollment quotas to establish a foundation for nurturing bachelor's, master's, and doctoral talents desired by the industry. By 2027, the quotas for vocational high schools and associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs related to semiconductors will be increased by 5,702. This includes 1,102 for graduate schools, 2,000 for general universities (bachelor's), 1,000 for junior colleges (associate), and 1,600 for vocational high schools. This will be done by utilizing previously reduced university quotas without revising the Capital Region Readjustment Act. The Ministry of Education will adjust quotas by accepting applications from schools wishing to expand quotas and approving them after review.

For advanced fields such as semiconductors, quota increases will be allowed if only the teacher recruitment rate among the four major requirements (campus land, faculty, classrooms, and basic assets for profit use) is met, regardless of regional distinctions when establishing or expanding departments. To this end, the university establishment and operation regulations, which specify that all four major requirements must be met when increasing quotas, will be revised by the end of this month. Additionally, at national universities, the full-time faculty recruitment standard for department expansion will be relaxed from 80% or more to 70% or more.

The criteria for mutual adjustment of quotas between universities and graduate schools will also be relaxed. Previously, reducing 1.5 undergraduate students was required to increase the quota by 1 for general or special graduate schools, and reducing 2 undergraduate students was required for professional graduate schools. This will be adjusted to a 1:1 ratio for all cases. Not only for master's degrees in advanced fields but also in all fields, reducing 2 master's students will allow adjustment to 1 doctoral student.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education at the end of June on the demand for semiconductor department expansion at 40 universities located in the capital and non-capital regions, 14 universities in the capital region expressed willingness to increase quotas by 1,266, and 13 universities in non-capital regions by 611. A Ministry of Education official explained, "Quota increases at capital region universities mean prioritizing those with the will and capability to nurture semiconductor talents," but added, "To maintain policy balance, appropriate allocation between the capital region and local areas is inevitable."

A 'contract quota system' allowing temporary additional quotas for already established advanced fields will also be introduced from next year. This enables existing departments to temporarily increase the number of students beyond the quota in consultation with companies without establishing new departments. The regulations for establishing and operating contract departments will also be revised within the year.

A Ministry of Education official said, "The purpose of the contract quota system is to separately recognize part of the semiconductor department quota according to the agreed period and scale desired by companies, an idea proposed by Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT," adding, "Specific operational plans such as the percentage of contract quotas to be recognized require related law amendments and consultations with relevant ministries."

University faculty qualifications will be significantly relaxed. To make it easier to appoint semiconductor and other advanced industry field experts as university lecturers or adjunct/invited professors, a special provision will be established allowing qualifications to be set by national universities' academic regulations or private universities' articles of association. A Ministry of Education official explained, "Currently, under the Higher Education Act, faculty qualifications require an appointment period of at least one year and at least four years of research achievements or teaching experience. We are considering revising the National Advanced Industry Act."

Universities with outstanding semiconductor education capabilities will be designated and fostered as 'Semiconductor Specialized Universities.' From 2023 to 2026, about 20 universities will be designated and supported intensively by removing various regulations such as limits on personnel expenses, equipment, and scholarships. The Semiconductor Specialized University support project will not apply caps on personnel expenses for hiring excellent faculty. Additionally, 'Semiconductor Specialized Graduate Schools' for detailed semiconductor fields such as design, process, and analysis will be designated to support the nurturing of high-level talents in industry and technology fields. Three 'AI Semiconductor Graduate Schools' will also be selected to cultivate leading researchers at the master's and doctoral levels in AI semiconductors.

Vocational high schools will be supported in restructuring departments and curricula to respond to job and educational demands needed in the field. To activate industry-academia joint teachers in vocational high schools, a 'High-Skilled Semiconductor Education Support Group' composed of current and former semiconductor experts will be formed. Regulations on 'in-house universities' will also be relaxed to allow companies to directly nurture necessary personnel. It will be permitted to jointly establish with small and medium-sized enterprises, standards for university consignment operation will be eased, and admission qualifications will be expanded to workers in the same industry.

Nurturing 105,000 through Convergence Majors... Doubling Innovative Shared Universities

By investing finances to encourage current students to complete short-term courses or double/minor majors, 105,000 talents will be nurtured over 10 years. This is to advance the timing of securing semiconductor talents by increasing convergence education opportunities for students from other majors. The Ministry of Education will increase the number of Digital Innovative Shared Universities from the current 8 to 16, designating 2 consortiums among them as semiconductor specialized. By jointly developing and operating semiconductor curricula among universities and sharing facilities and equipment, 2,500 graduates can be produced annually.

Through the inter-ministerial collaborative innovative talent nurturing project (collaboration among the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Industry, and Ministry of Science and ICT), undergraduate students will be able to complete major tracks where semiconductor and AI semiconductor are their main or linked majors. The Ministry of Science and ICT will also newly promote the 'Semiconductor Design and Implementation Talent Nurturing' project, selecting and supporting undergraduate researchers to secure fabless personnel.

To nurture customized practical talents immediately deployable in the industrial field, customized programs and work-study parallel education courses tailored to corporate demand will be expanded in vocational high schools and junior colleges. In vocational high schools, recruitment-linked job training courses in the semiconductor field will be expanded to provide on-site training and employment consulting tailored to corporate demand. New education courses linking specialized high schools and junior colleges will be selected. Polytechnics will also reorganize departments and courses centered on semiconductors to conduct field-oriented training using actual production facilities. Practical training courses for employees of small and medium-sized semiconductor materials, parts, equipment, and fabless companies will also be provided.

To perform core functions of semiconductor education and basic research, the 'Seoul National University Semiconductor Joint Research Institute' will be established as a central hub, and regional semiconductor joint research institutes will be set up to build specialization and collaboration systems among institutes. The government will establish a 'Talent Nurturing Strategy Meeting' to discover nationwide talent nurturing agendas and prepare countermeasures with a collaborative infrastructure.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Park Soon-ae said, "Future talents leading advanced industries such as semiconductors will be a catalyst for South Korea's new leap forward, and this plan will be the starting point for nurturing such advanced talents," adding, "Beyond regional distinctions, this is a national survival strategy task. Regional universities will also actively perform roles and demonstrate capabilities to nurture talents in advanced industries such as semiconductors based on their strengths."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.