New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS): In a bid to create a skilled workforce for the growing semiconductor industry in India, the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) on Wednesday announced a first-of-its-kind initiative to reach out to eligible candidates, nurture them and connect them to prospective employers.

According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country's own consumption of semiconductors is expected to cross $80 billion by 2026 and $110 billion by 2030, and the government is investing heavily in skilling and training young Indians for the needs of the 21st century.

"Naturally, the sector is ripe with abundant opportunities for different stakeholders, including budding ECE and CE graduates. However, we must admit that compared to the IT sector, semiconductor and electronics industry is relatively lower on the radar of modern-age students," said Dr Pradip Thaker, Executive Council, IESA.

"Industry leaders will need to inspire, motivate, support and nurture talent of the country to be part of the journey and be industry-ready skills for existing and new emerging opportunities as nation moves from being a chip-taker to chip-maker," he emphasised.

Given that a majority of engineering talent (ECE, CE, CS students) today are opting for IT careers, the semiconductor and electronics industry is facing a considerable challenge.

The IESA initiative will be conducted in three phases: Create Awareness, Share Knowledge and Connect Industry.

In the first phase, the association plans to set up a separate LinkedIn page to give periodic information updates regarding the latest developments in the semiconductor and electronics industry.

"In addition, the association will be leveraging government-sponsored TV advertisements to reach out to maximum students as well as their parents as a societal influencing factor to educate emergence of great opportunities over a next decade," it said in a statement.

Under the second phase, the association will conduct an industry speaker series either live or in recorded format.

The IESA-certified interns will have an opportunity to gain experience in CSR-driven sponsored programmes. There will also be a skill development sponsorship of free CAD tools to universities.

The last phase will include industry sponsored fellowships to eligible students, said the association, intended to create a tight cross-connect between more than 300 industry entities and over 2,000 colleges.

"The end goal of this initiative is to measurably increase the uptake of ECE and CE students for semiconductor and electronics industry careers over four years," said the IESA.