BRUSSELS, Belgium — April 11, 2023 — SEMI, the industry association serving the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, today announced that SEMI Europe, as the lead of a new 18-partner consortium, has won up to €4 million in funding to develop the European Chips Skills Academy, an initiative to help tackle the skills and talent shortages in Europe’s electronics industry and propel its long-term growth. The initiative is backed by more than 30 partner research organizations, vocational and education training providers, certification agencies and industry stakeholders.
The European Chips Skills Academy will expand on the Microelectronics Pact for Skills and the EU Chips Act to support the microelectronics ecosystem in Europe to attract new talent. The academy will deliver targeted European-wide training in key microelectronics fields such as automotive and additive manufacturing. The grant, provided by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ Programme, will fund the academy for four years.
The European Chips Skills Academy is the second phase of the Microelectronics Training, Industry and Skills (METIS) consortium. Both initiatives are designed to foster microelectronics industry collaboration with key education, training and certification providers to address the skills shortage and European competitiveness.
“The pan-European alliance guiding the European Chips Skills Academy will leverage the diverse and considerable strengths of its many partners from across the microelectronics’ ecosystem and industrial value chain,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “The project aims to bring greater strategic foresight to the evolution of professions and skills in the industry by applying evidence-based, data-driven success metrics to workforce development.”
“Rapid semiconductor industry growth in Europe and around the globe in the years ahead necessitates that we quickly scale up the region’s training efforts and drive greater cohesion of skills strategies across Europe to meet demand for the qualified workers required to sustain innovation and growth,” said Laith Altimime, president of SEMI Europe. “The European Chips Skills Academy will be the first decentralized microelectronics skills provider in Europe to help overcome this critical workforce development challenge.”
“With the call on the Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills the Commission aims to boost the provision of new skills by designing and creating new curricula for higher education and vocational training, thus supporting the EU Chips Act to address the semiconductor skills shortage and attract new talents and workforce”, said Lucilla Sioli, Director of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry in Directorate-General CONNECT at the European Commission. “The European Chips Skills Academy, among other initiatives, will be an important step to support skills development in Europe and to underpin the implementation of the Chips Act across Members States.”
Expected to begin work in autumn 2023, the European Chips Skills Academy consortium consists of the following organizations:
- Asociación Nacional de Centros con Certificados de Profesionalidad (ANCCP) - Spain
- Association for European NanoElectronics Activities (AENEAS) - France
- Budapest University of Technology & Economics (BME) - Hungary
- DECISION Etudes & Conseil - France
- Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) - Germany
- Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) - Austria
- Infineon Technologies - Austria
- Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence (CIMEA) - Italy
- Innovazione Apprendimento Lavoro Friuli Venezia Giulia (IAL-FVG) - Italy
- Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec) – Belgium
- Knolyx - Romania
- Melexis - Belgium
- Okmetic - Finland
- Platform Talent voor Technologie (PTVT) / European STEM coalition - Netherlands
- SEMI Europe - Germany
- Silicon Saxony - Germany
- Technical University of Ostrava (VSB) - Czechia
- Tyndall National Institute - Ireland
Visit SEMI Global Advocacy to learn more about public policy efforts and developments, and SEMI Workforce Development for more information on efforts to address the microelectronics industry’s talent needs.
Europe Advocacy
Discover how SEMI Europe Advocacy & Public Policy supports the microelectronics industry across trade, taxes, talent, and R&D or become involved by contacting euadvocacy@semi.org.
About SEMI
SEMI® connects more than 2,500 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA), the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) and SOI Consortium are SEMI Strategic Technology Communities. Visit www.semi.org, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more.
Association Contacts
Serena Brischetto/SEMI Europe
Phone: +49 30 3030 8077-11
Email: sbrischetto@semi.org
Michael Hall/SEMI US
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: mhall@semi.org