Research and analysis

UK Semiconductor workforce study: executive summary

Published 30 April 2025

The UK semiconductor sector is a strategically vital and globally competitive industry, supporting high-value roles in design, R&D, and manufacturing. It contributes an estimated $12 billion (£9.8 billion) in annual revenues to the UK economy and has established a global reputation for excellence in semiconductor design and innovation, with world-leading companies and research institutions.

This study, commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), analyses the UK semiconductor workforce. It draws on data from 82 survey respondents, 25 in-depth stakeholder interviews, 3 industry workshops (27 attendees) and analysis of sectoral employment data, identifying acute challenges and opportunities for sustaining and growing the UK’s semiconductor talent pipeline.

Key Findings

• The UK semiconductor workforce consists of approximately 27,245 individuals, with 69% (c.18,800) employed in technical roles.
• Design-related roles dominate, accounting for 64% of technical positions, with IC design, software development, and R&D being particularly prominent.
• Semiconductor businesses are regionally distributed, with clusters in London, the South East,  South Wales, the North West, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
• The average workforce age is 41, similar to the average age of R&D workers, and slightly younger than the UK average of 42.
• An estimated 39% (over 10,000 workers) expected to retire within 15 years—presenting a major skills and succession planning challenge.
• More than three-quarters of workers hold a degree (86%); 14% have PhDs. Only 0.4% have apprenticeships or foundation degrees as their highest qualification.
• Approximately 71% of the UK’s current semiconductor workforce is from the UK, 9% is from Europe and approximately 20% is from other international locations.
• Female participation is low: 26% overall and only 18% in technical roles, highlighting gender imbalances and the need for targeted interventions.

Education and pipeline challenges

• Annual inflows of higher education graduates entering the semiconductor sector are estimated at 870 graduates (UK and international domiciled students from UK universities), with half of these entrants from electrical and electronic engineering (EEE) courses.
• However, UK-domiciled graduate numbers have plateaued, and long-term international student retention remains uncertain, raising concerns about the longevity and sustainability of inflows.
• Nearly half of semiconductor employers surveyed feel that current university courses –particularly undergraduate programmes – do not fully align with industry requirements.
• Degree apprenticeships and vocational pathways are underutilised and hindered by the lack of semiconductor-specific frameworks. Only 8% of the workforce enters via post-16 education, and vocational qualifications could be better tailored to meet employer needs.

Sector outlook and demand

• Globally, the semiconductor industry is projected to grow from $642bn in 2024 to approximately $1 trillion by 2030, outpacing projected global GDP growth and creating demand for an estimated 1 million new workers worldwide.
• The UK has a highly credible opportunity to leverage its strong global reputation to maximise global growth for UK benefit – creating high-value technical roles and strong multiplier effects across the economy.
• However, intense global competition for talent, an ageing workforce and a potential lack of new entrants into the semiconductor industry all pose risks to the UK’s ability to scale and compete in high-value segments of the market.

Conclusion and recommendations

The UK semiconductor workforce is highly skilled, globally mobile, and concentrated in critical innovation roles. However, the sector faces significant structural and pipeline challenges that, if left unaddressed, could limit future growth and competitiveness.

The UK must act decisively to build a resilient and future-ready semiconductor workforce, underpinning growth across the technology ecosystem and securing national capability in a globally strategic sector.

Interventions put forward in this report provide options for addressing reported challenges in the short, medium and longer-term. They have been developed collaboratively with the study’s panel of expert advisors from analysis of findings from 25 in-depth interviews with representatives from industry and academia, and from a series of 3 industry workshops comprising 27 industry representatives. Addressing these challenges will take co-ordinated effort between government, the private sector, academia and the wider education system (perceived involvement of stakeholders denoted in brackets for each recommendation). Recommendations put forward include but are not limited to:

• Attracting later-stage EEE graduates: Raising the profile and perceived attractiveness of the semiconductor industry among later stage EEE graduates, and providing short conversion courses that enable later stage students to enter the sector through relevant but tangential courses, such as physics, material science and software engineering.
• Expanding the higher education pipeline: Increasing the number of young people choosing the semiconductor industry through interventions that target the value and/or number of bursaries and scholarships for later stage education – these may draw on successful interventions such as UKESF’s Scholarship Scheme and the cyber security sector’s ‘CyberFirst’ programme.
• Expanding capacity of alternative pathways: In the longer-term there is also potential to raise awareness and expand the capacity of alternative pathways into the industry, through apprenticeships and technical training programs. Interventions in this area may include, for example, BTECs for process technician support.
• Increasing female participation: Increasing the representation of women within the semiconductor industry is likely to derive a range of benefits, not least expanding the wider labour pool. While these initiatives are likely to be longer-term in nature, initiatives could be targeted at both increasing engagement of females at undergraduate level and reducing the disproportionate attrition of women from STEM careers.
• Establishing and promoting common career progression opportunities: Working on an industry-wide basis to create clear technical and managerial career progression pathways may help to improve retention of early-career professionals and demonstrate long-term career potential.