Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwanese chipmakers have organized large-scale recruitment fairs to find talented specialists for its recovering business.

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) hoped to recruit at least 1,000 specialists at a recent fair. UMC’s first 300mm wafer plant at the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park in southern Taiwan has entered volume production and its Singapore ventures UMCi and AUpte will tool up their 300mm wafer facilities next year, reported the Financial Times.

The Taiwanese chipmaker has faced a shortage of specialists in the recently resurgent market. UMC has offered shares to lure new employees. Last month, the company held recruitment activities at Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park and Tainan Science-based Industrial Park. Around 5% of those interviewed are expected to be recruited, according to the company.

UMC Chairman Robert Tsao reportedly offered lucrative incentives a month ago to staff who helped recruit senior specialists.

TSMC has held numerous recruitment activities at university campuses across the island to ease its talent shortage. The company has urged the government to take measures to cultivate more talent.

Over the past year, an estimated 100 TSMC specialists have been lured to mainland Chinese Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., further straining TSMC’s talent shortage problem when its 300mm fabs are entering volume production.

Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. has had an urgent demand for specialists since it started tooling up its 300mm wafer fab. The company has planned a recruitment fair on the day the new fab is unveiled next month and hopes to hire 400 to 500 new employees.

Nanya Technology Corp. has long recruited employees on campuses and through joint recruitment with member companies of the Formosa Plastics Group.

Macronix International Co. Ltd. plans to recruit 300 to 400 engineers by the end of this year to meet the needs of its third plant, which is scheduled to begin volume production this summer.