Chip ambitions hinge on talent development

 

M’sia must overcome shortage of engineers, Ic designers

”There are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 IC designers in the country, but the bulk of them work in multinational companies like Intel and Infineon. It is a challenge to coax these experienced personnel out of their comfort zones and venture into a startup. Hence, talent is concentrated in multinational corporations.”

PETALING JAYA: The country’s potential to be a key hub for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, packaging and fabrication hinges on talent.

Kenanga Research said in a report that talent remained an important concern, after taking into account the country’s strengths, including a well-developed infrastructure, pro-business policies and neutral stance in geopolitics.

The research house said during a meeting with the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA), the question of how players can move up the value chain and how the government can pivot away from the typical tax incentive mindset to one of attracting and retaining talent was raised.

“Among the environmental, social and governance or ESG components, talent development is a constant concern for the semiconductor industry.

“Key findings from the Semiconductor Quarterly Pulse Survey (fourth quarter of 2024 or 4Q24) showed that talent – specifically a shortage of engineers and integrated circuit (IC) designers, and market competition remained the top challenges for the industry,” it said.

Additionally, data showed that 72% of companies were hiring engineers and technicians in 1Q25, a trend that has continued from previous quarters, indicating a continuous need for talent.

Data also showed that in 2022, the average monthly salary for employees within the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry was RM6,450.

However, only 0.3% of the E&E workforce held an advanced degree, indicating potential for further growth.

According to the research house, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 IC designers in the country, but the bulk of them work in multinational companies like Intel and Infineon.

“It is a challenge to coax these experienced personnel out of their comfort zones and venture into a startup. Hence, talent is mostly concentrated in the already well-established multinational corporations,” Kenanga Research noted.

MSIA then said some steps must be taken to mitigate this.

These include setting up a university focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), facilitating the hiring of foreign STEM students studying in Malaysia, providing the right incentives to attract foreign talent and encouraging semiconductor players to intensify training.

“The government has earmarked about 10% of the RM25bil allocation to train and upskill 60,000 engineers by 2030 to support advanced manufacturing, research and development, and technological advancements in the semiconductor industry,” it noted.

Meanwhile, Kenanga Research said there were potential opportunities that could emerge in the industry for Malaysia.

There has been growing interest in expanding to Malaysia, especially from Chinese semiconductor firms which are looking to leverage on local infrastructure to facilitate global exports.

“Malaysia remains focused on driving economic growth by fostering a pro-business environment that attracts foreign investments.

“Moreover, Malaysia is actively pursuing high-value foreign direct investment while encouraging collaboration between the local private sector and the government to strengthen and develop a robust semiconductor ecosystem, particularly in advanced packaging,” it added.

To successfully do this, the country will focus on several key factors, including strengthening government incentives for IC design, improving supply chain resilience to support high-end semiconductor manufacturing, and attracting semiconductor fabrication investments.

To add to this, the country had committed US$250mil over 10 years in a strategic partnership with Arm Holdings plc recently to access chip design blueprints and training, aiming to transition from chip assembly and testing (back-end) to high-value semiconductor design and production.

With that, Kenanga Research reiterated the need for greater investments into the semiconductor supply chain to strengthen resilience and attract suppliers from key markets.

“While Malaysia has a strong semiconductor foundation, it must accelerate technological adoption, talent development and infrastructure investments to maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving global market,” the research house said.

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Spreading the word on low-code programming

Orangeleaf working to bring about quicker app development

Orangeleaf Consulting co-founder Tim Hendricks with CEO and co-founder Ellice Ng Pui San.

“Rapid developers help close the skills gap by democratising application development, which is important given the rising scarcity of qualified IT workers globally.” Ellice Ng Pui San

DESPITE being someone who now has both feet firmly planted in the world of technology, Ellice Ng Pui San, chief executive officer and co-founder of Orangeleaf Consulting, originally had a completely career track in mind when she started working.

Before she started the technology consultancy, she felt she did not fit into the realm of technology.

Recounting her venture into the technology industry, she tells Starbizweek technology was not something that used to excite her and she believed that she would not fit into the industry.

Despite that, her mother persuaded her and enrolled her in a computing diploma.

“I completed my studies. However, despite spending hours studying and working hard on my assignments, I could not see my future in the field and later quit pursuing my degree in computing.

“Instead, I ventured into corporate communications and founded my own public relations agency with just RM500 in my pocket. Thankfully, the PR agency did considerably well, and was enough to sustain me in those early years.

“Even with this achievement, destiny stepped in and brought me back to the technology industry when I met my husband Tim Hendricks, who is now my business partner and co-founder of Orangeleaf Consulting.

“I was intrigued when my husband introduced how ‘low-code’ technology barely needed any coding and utilised visual interfaces, drag-and-drop tools, and pre-built components to quickly design and build software solutions. We are speaking about 10 times faster in development,” Ng explains.

As a communication practitioner who had worked in the corporate sector for many years, she saw a gap in the market, as many technology consultancies were still relying on traditional coding to build systems, and low-code, relatively unknown in the Asian market at the time, was not utilised, though it proved to be much more efficient and easier to implement.

Orangeleaf Consulting utlises Siemen’s Mendix low-code platform and has been successful judging from the fact that Orangeleaf was recently chosen as the only consultancy in Selangor to work with the Selangor Technical Skills Development Centre (STDCX).

STDCX is the Selangor government’s technical professional development centre.

What gives Mendix an upper hand as a low-code platform is its speed to market opposed to the traditional forms of computer programming. Those who do not have a coding background can rapidly adapt to Mendix and seamlessly develop software that caters to an organisation’s needs.

With technical and vocational education and training (TVET) gaining strong momentum and now a focus in Selangor, plans are underway for the use of the latest coding technology.

The 2024 Selangor Budget has provided an allocation of Rm13.85mil for TVET programmes and the state is set to benefit from the use of low-code programming, which enables users to build apps quickly.

Powering this transformation will be Mendix, a low-code app development platform owned by Siemens.

Orangeleaf Consulting is one of the leading experts in Mendix in Asia-pacific. The consultancy provides digitisation and technology innovation consultancy services and custom software system development based on the low-code software development platform.

Mendix enables software development at a much faster pace than traditional software programming.

Realising the potential of low-code technology, Ng and her husband decided to form Orangeleaf Consulting in 2018 with their marriage funds.

The consultancy grew from a two-man team in 2018 to 30 dedicated low-code professionals offering a visual approach to software development that enables faster delivery of applications through minimal coding.

“We saw the opportunity to help develop a high-calibre talent pool in Malaysia that was skilled in low code, and able to take on global markets in developing good software. Since the start of our journey, Tim and I have continued to firmly believe in education, therefore as the team grows and stabilises, we invest time and resources to nurture local talent through the Mendix Certified Digital Professional Programme.

“We recently launched the programme together with STDCX, which is sponsored by the Selangor government.

“The programme aims to groom and educate talent, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant in the low-code landscape, which then contributes to the nation’s technological advancement. We coach talent to understand the needs of businesses before developing an app,” Ng says.

Thanks to its success, Orangeleaf Consulting has expanded and now has a presence in Malaysia, Singapore, the Netherlands, and recently Japan

Elaborating on the future of low-code technology, Ng says, among other things, it is a visual technology for software development that features a drag-and-drop interface, requiring minimal hand coding.

She says low-code technology is adaptable for both the small and medium enterprises and enterprise markets, enabling businesses to iterate and evolve quickly based on customer input and usage statistics.

She says examples of its use include digitising the measurement process for liquid chemicals and developing an application that allows medical staff to monitor realtime temperatures of rooms where key vaccines and medical-grade products are stored.

Ng says the customisability of low-code programming is particularly advantageous for clients as it can cater specifically to their industry and needs.

She adds that the global low-code market is expected to grow significantly, reaching around Us$65bil by 2027 and Us$187bil by 2030, underscoring its scalability and longterm potential.

In today’s rapidly changing technology landscape, she says the versatility of lowcode development is a valuable advantage, fostering innovation and improving operational efficiencies globally.

Commenting on the consultancy’s plans to develop 300 certified “rapid developers” in the next three years, Ng says rapid developers are individuals who undergo an intensive training programme designed to accelerate their journey to becoming certified Mendix low-code professionals. The term “rapid” emphasises the efficiency and speed of the certification process, which typically spans just three days, she adds.

“During this short time frame, participants immerse themselves in a comprehensive curriculum that covers key concepts, tools, and techniques related to lowcode development using the Mendix platform.

“The rapid-developer programme is structured to provide participants with a condensed yet robust learning experience that equips them with the skills and knowledge needed to leverage low-code technology effectively.

“The core of the certification includes training programmes, innovation labs, mentorship programmes, and community-engagement activities.

“Rapid developers help close the skills gap by democratising application development, which is important given the rising scarcity of qualified IT workers globally.

“Through the rapid-developers programme, more people with different backgrounds and skill levels can learn low-code programming, increasing the talent pool to propel technological advancement,” Ng said.

Besides the domestic market, Orangeleaf Consulting is also making its mark in the Japanese manufacturing sector with a strategic collaboration with Macnica Inc, a leading semiconductor company headquartered in Yokohama. Together with Macnica, the consultancy is working on improving and strengthening enterprise digital transformation and innovation within a new market.

“We intend to use advanced technology to revolutionise the way people think and behave in the business-software sector, rather than merely being affected by it,” she says.

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