Online information source for semiconductor professionals

Mercer Human Resource Consulting has surveyed over 100 companies with operations in China and found that staff turnover is getting worse with the average tenure for 25-35 year olds falling from an average of 3 to 5 years in 2004 to just 1 to 2 years in 2005. Read more >>

Stories continue to circulate over Intel Corp plans to shed up to 15 percent of its workforce in an effort to become more agile and focused company. Intel's spokesman Chuck Mulloy has consistently declined to comment on the rumors though IT website, theRegister.com has noted readers from Intel are concerned that major job losses are just around the corner. Read more >>

Soitec the largest manufacturer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers has broken ground on its new 300-mm wafer fab in Singapore. The groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction at the company's first fab in Asia, located in Singapore's Pasir Wafer Fab Park and called Fab 3. Read more >>

With STMicroelectronics expanding its chip manufacturing production at existing fabrication facilities in Singapore the company has elected to recruit workers from other internal operations with the country before seeking outside appointments, according to a story at Today Online in Singapore. Read more >>

Albany NanoTech center in New York State has rapidly become one of the key facilities for advanced research into semiconductor materials and processes in North America. Part of the program is to attract the right students and young engineers that will be required to work for major IC manufacturers in the coming years. Part of the problem in attracting students to take engineering courses is the fact few teachers working below university levels have a good understanding of what it is like to work in the semiconductor industry and find it difficult to then mentor and educate students to the career opportunities. Read more >>

Since the major announcement of Intel Corp and Micron Technology to form a NAND Flash Joint Venture company, IM Flash Technologies and fit out and expand a dormant 300mm fab in Lehi, Idaho and directly generate around 2,000 high-tech jobs at the facility, there was concern that finding the qualified workers required for a major facility would be difficult, possibly delaying some of the plans as the start-up phase was seen as very aggressive. Read more >>

A technology recruitment specialist has outlined that getting the next job in technology may be more about other skills than simply being a wizard at C++ ! A story at the Dallas Morning News outlines the advice from Eriq Neale of Eon Consulting that candidates now need to demonstrate good communication skills to get that next job as employers are increasingly looking for tech staff that can do both. Read more >>