While the industry in Malaysia is booming, it currently faces a severe shortage of talent like Ms Azzuani, with the government saying it needs 50,000 skilled engineers. Malaysian universities are producing only about 5,000 engineers annually. Mr Chen-Jiang Phua, managing director of AT&S , told CNA: “I've never seen the talent shortage as serious as these few years, especially in the semiconductor, in the high-tech manufacturing .
Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Wong Siew Hai said his organisation has developed a programme in a bid to solve the shortage of engineers. He similarly described the situation as a war on talent.