KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Malaysia recently launched South-east Asia’s largest integrated circuit (IC) design hub in Selangor, but it currently lacks enough talents to drive its push as a pivotal hub.

Singapore-based CNA reported that Malaysia needs 10 times more than the around 5,000 engineering graduates it produces each year — so the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) has developed an industrial college to bridge the talent gap.

"There's a global war for talent in terms of hardware and software, so what we are doing now to solve the talent problem is we are co-investing in another project beside the IC park – around RM200 million to build a school,” Sidec chief executive Yong Kai Ping reportedly said.

This school is the Malaysia Advanced Semiconductor AI Institute (Masai), which Yong said will function as a link between universities and the industry rather than replacing tertiary education.

This comes as each IC park requires around 400 to 600 engineers trained in computer science, mechanical and electronic engineering, it said.

In August, state government-linked news outlet Selangor Journal cited Yong saying that Masai is a rebranding of the Selangor Digital School, a state government educational initiative to enhance digital literacy.

Yong said Selangor Digital School would be upgraded to an industrial college status, and managed by Sidec as its programme director.

He was quoted saying that Masai’s curriculum will include training in IC design tools as well as other tech-based applications used in AI and the semiconductor industry.

In the report, Yong said the institution will also offer an upskilling curriculum and provide top undergraduate students with access to companies, thus enabling research, on-the-job training and job placement for graduates.

Masai reportedly aims to train 1,000 to 5,000 graduates annually.

The Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park: Selangor Hub, which spans 60,000 square feet and located in PFCC Puchong, was officially launched in August along with the KL20 Summit.

The project is expected to bring in economic returns of RM500 million to RM1 billion.