Building the Future Workforce of the Semiconductor Industry

A Two-Country Design and Strategy Lab for the Philippines & Vietnam

A Two-Country Design and Strategy Lab for the Philippines & Vietnam

Led and facilitated by Romano Theunissen, the ITSI Semiconductor Workforce Accelerator was a two-part international initiative that brought together over 150 leaders from government, academia, and industry in the Philippines and Vietnam. This ambitious program aimed to co-create high-impact, actionable solutions to build resilient, future-ready talent ecosystems for the global semiconductor industry.

A Shared Mission Across Borders

In both engagements, held in September 2024, diverse stakeholder groups worked collaboratively to address shared challenges: skills gaps, curriculum misalignment, talent retention, infrastructure deficits, and weak industry-academia linkages. Using design thinking and foresight-driven facilitation, Romano guided participants through workshops that turned complexity into clarity—and vision into concept.

🇵🇭 In the Philippines (Sept 25–27, 2024)

Representatives from TESDA, the Board of Investments, Microchip, CHED, universities, and private sector partners co-designed seven flagship project concepts including:

A National Semiconductor Lab Network to give students hands-on experience in live production environments.
A Skills Certification & Micro-Credentialing Framework aligned to industry needs.
A Mentorship Network involving local experts and returning OFWs.
Career pathway programs bridging Senior High School to employment.
R&D initiatives for locally sourced materials.
Awareness campaigns to elevate the industry’s reputation.

🇻🇳 In Vietnam (Sept 16–18, 2024)

The Vietnam program, hosted in collaboration with the National Innovation Center and supported by Intel, OnSemi, and government ministries, generated nine strategic concepts, including:

An International Collaboration Model to train 1,000 ATP professionals in three years through global partnerships.
A Co-Education Framework integrating university and industry learning pipelines.
Industry-Sponsored Internship Programs to give students real-world experience and job placement pipelines.
A Micro-Credential Curriculum System customized for women, reskilling professionals, and high-demand ATP roles.
Advisory boards and data-driven platforms to align policy, curriculum, and labor needs.

Both labs culminated in pitch sessions, impact-feasibility testing, and the groundwork for pilot initiatives now under discussion with public and private sector stakeholders.