The program, supported by the ministry and run by the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, targets company employees and people seeking jobs in the semiconductor sector. It plans to train about 100 process design specialists through four sessions a year, each lasting two weeks.
The ministry said the initiative reflects growing complexity in manufacturing processes for 3D-stacked AI semiconductors such as HBM and 3D NAND. It said demand is rising for specialists who understand entire process flows — not just individual steps — and can solve technical problems that occur during production.
It noted that manufacturing sequences and equipment layouts vary by chip type, while changing and rearranging expensive equipment to match each process is not feasible due to cost and space constraints.
The academy said it worked with global semiconductor equipment companies to develop a curriculum that uses specialized software already used at major Korean companies and universities, allowing trainees to learn without dedicated equipment. In a virtual environment that replicates a semiconductor fab, trainees will study overall manufacturing processes and how to design optimized process flows.
Industry experts will also serve as instructors to share on-the-job know-how. Applications open May 4 on the academy’s website, with trainees to be selected through screening based on selection criteria. Training is set to begin in late May.
Choi Woo-hyuk, the ministry’s director general for advanced industry policy, called it “a new paradigm of training that lets people learn semiconductor processes at a glance without expensive equipment.” He said it is expected to produce talent tailored to industry needs in the short term and significantly reduce the costs required to build hands-on training equipment over the long term.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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