Czech Business Today

Chip development and production must become one of the main pillars of the future Czech economy. Global demand for semiconductors will skyrocket in the coming years. Changing the education system will also be crucial, as the Czech Republic has a severe shortage of qualified professionals. This was mentioned at a round table of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, which was attended not only by semiconductor companies and experts in the field, including universities but also by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation Helena Langšádlová and the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.

Experts and the Czech Chamber of Commerce consider green technologies’ general technological development and growth as an inevitable reality. Successful transformation of the Czech economy reflecting this trend can be assured by effective investment in the development and production of chips. Therefore, taking the required steps as soon as possible is necessary to ensure that the Czech Republic can compete economically on a European and global scale.

“Recent years have clearly shown us that the future of all developed economies of the world stands and falls with digitalisation and rapid technological progress. This is why the world cannot work without developing and producing high-quality semiconductors. If this segment of the economy in the Czech Republic can be fully developed, it will shift the added value in production and maintain industrial competitiveness,” said Vladimír Dlouhý, Former President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce.

According to the Czech Chamber of Commerce, the government should also focus on training experts and professionals in the field, as well as on the appropriate involvement of foreign experts. “We advocate a national programme of education in the field of semiconductors; it is necessary to highlight the strategic importance and very significantly strengthen the competencies of the Czech Republic in this area. Currently, very few students are applying for these fields, while our economy will need thousands of them,” points out Zdeněk Zajíček, President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce.

Experts at the round table also pointed out the great competition in Europe and the world. Therefore, international cooperation with, e.g. Germany, which will be the semiconductor leader in the upcoming years, is essential. “Currently, the European Union has only a 4% share of the global intellectual property related to developing new semiconductor solutions. Therefore, Europe must take full advantage of the European Chip Act and channel resources into developing the semiconductor industry,” adds Stanislav Černý of the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster.

After the roundtable, the Czech Chamber of Commerce, the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster and the organisations present signed a declaration of support for semiconductors in the Czech Republic. In it, they point out, among other things, that the forecast future annual growth of the global semiconductor market is 8%, from the current $662 billion to $972 billion in 2028.

According to the signatories of the Declaration, the Czech Republic has a unique opportunity to actively participate in European semiconductor initiatives with the corresponding potential for industrial development, science, research and education with broad multiplier effects on increasing the efficiency of energy resources, reducing the overall carbon footprint and opening new opportunities for the downstream use of advanced semiconductor components.

Source: komora.cz