We’ve been hearing lately that the shortages in transport and logistics are reaching critical levels which could lead to shortages of produce on our shelves in the autumn, but it’s not just chips in our supermarkets.. it’s the chips… well everywhere!
For years now, the main manufacturers of microchips have been in Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Malaysia and a few other southeast Asian countries, the USA and Europe making up less than 10% of market share.
This has meant that when the semiconductor industry grinds to a halt, we are left in short supply and very low down the list. As it stands now industries across the board are being hit by this shortage as PlayStations and phones struggle to be produced, the used car market growing as new cars are taking longer to hit the forecourt. And every product that takes a chip, is being that much more difficult to produce.
The UK has a very small semiconductor market, but it is growing, and if we want to stand our ground during global shortages, we need to maintain the capacity to produce at least a portion of our needs.
Newport Wafer Fab, for instance might be Chinese owned, but it’s based in South Wales, and with £50 million of investment in its growth earlier this year, it’s a sign that it’s here to stay.
And with several other market leading semiconductor companies being based on the M4 corridor, we need to maintain a manufacturing presence alongside our research and development.
We at IBP expect to see a resurgence in small to medium scale semiconductor manufacturers and this is an industry to watch. For our reliance on Microchips from computers to cars from telephones to toasters we can never have enough of them!
As we move through this pandemic and Brexit it’s important to identify where the job market trends are moving and that’s exactly where we at IBP intend to be, ahead of the curve.
Email: contact@ibprecruitment.co.uk
Phone: 0330 113 0032