TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese tech companies are craving talent, as a survey revealed a gap between the supply and demand for engineers in the semiconductor industry, according to 104 Job Bank.

The survey, which analyzed 735,000 job vacancies in the country’s 1,600 semiconductor-related firms over the past six years, indicated that eight of the top ten openings have been engineering jobs. The remaining two are production line workers and salespersons.

The shortages have become more acute since last year due to the robust demand for AI, 5G, and IoT applications as well as products related to remote work. Overall, the number of available employment opportunities in the semiconductor business averaged 28,000 monthly in the second quarter of 2021, with 55% being engineers of various kinds.

The report also pointed to a rise in the recruitment needs for IC design talent in central Taiwan, while the south has been seeing an uptick in vacancies in the areas of IC manufacturing as well as IC packaging and testing. This suggests a slight southward shift of focus in the country’s semiconductor sector.