KUCHING: Semiconductor foundry X-FAB Sarawak, one of the top 10 manufacturing companies in Sarawak, has called for more skilled young Sarawakians to fill the manpower gap in the industry.
Chief Executive Officer Mike Young said their policy is to hire more locals especially from Sarawak at any level, especially professional engineers who can handle high technology equipment related to the field.
“Our facility is becoming quite well-known and attractive to the locals.
“Furthermore, 60 per cent of our 1,000 workers are Bumiputeras. We don’t have any problem at the direct level and operator level for employment.
But when we go to the next phase especially in research and development, we need more engineers specifically for modelling, devices and physics, so it’s a very precise skills set.
“It’s a very small industry. We need engineers with at least 10 years’ experience,” he told Bernama here recently.
Young pointed out that some of the processes and tools require very specific skills, while a large number of staff is needed to print the microchips.
“Due to the lack of local professional and qualified engineers to support our operations, we have to look for candidates from as far as Singapore, Australia and the US.
“We are trying to persuade universities in Sarawak and the whole of Malaysia to provide proper channels, courses or platforms, whether it’s physics or electronics, to cater to the industry’s needs,” said Young, who is also Vice Chairman of the Semiconductor Fabrication Association of Malaysia. — Bernama