The semiconductor skills crisis: why storytelling is your secret weapon

The global compound semiconductor industry is growing at an extraordinary pace, yet its biggest challenge isn’t innovation. It’s people. 

With demand for chips set to double by 2035 and compound semiconductors forecast to grow by more than 60% by 2030, the sector needs an enormous influx of skilled engineers, designers, and technicians. Yet worldwide, the industry is facing a shortfall of around one million workers by the end of the decade. 

For the UK, and especially the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster CSconnected in South Wales, this presents both a threat and an opportunity. The UK has world-leading capability in compound semiconductors, photonics and design IP, but without the talent pipeline to match, growth will stall. 

The instinctive response is often to focus on incentives: salaries, training, facilities. All important, but not enough. Today’s workforce, particularly early-career engineers and technicians, are looking for something deeper: a sense of purpose, impact, and belonging. 

And this is where storytelling becomes a strategic advantage. 

Most people outside the sector still don’t understand what semiconductors are, let alone why they matter. Yet these tiny devices power the technologies of tomorrow: AI and quantum, clean energy, healthcare, defence and telecommunications. 

When deep tech organisations communicate in purely technical terms, they make themselves inaccessible. But when they tell real human stories, the breakthroughs happening in their labs, the impact their innovations have on society, the pride of the teams behind the work, they suddenly become magnetic. 

A strong employer brand isn’t about glossy statements. It’s about showing engineers that their work will shape the future. It’s about helping young people picture themselves in the sector, contributing to something bigger. 

In a market where skills are scarce and competition is fierce, the companies that communicate their purpose with clarity, confidence, and humanity will be the ones that attract the brightest minds. 

And those stories, told well, will be just as critical to the industry’s future as the chips themselves. 

Want to find out more about PR in the Compound Semiconductor sector? Download our whitepaper here:  

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