Training · ForSEMI Learn

Job-ready talent for semiconductor manufacturing

ForSEMI Learn (芯锐培英) is the talent institute of ForSilicon Research — a hands-on training platform dedicated to integrated-circuit manufacturing. We train people for wafer fabs, advanced packaging, equipment, materials, and components companies, with curricula built by engineers and HR leaders from TSMC, Hua Hong, and GalaxyCore.

Plan a training program → See the curriculum
Why it matters

Industry needs people. Universities have people.

What has been missing is the connector that turns learning into the basic skills needed on day one. We start from what employers actually need, and build training, internships, and hiring around it.

For employers

New hires take too long to become productive. Tool use, equipment safety, and basic hands-on skills still have to be taught from scratch after recruiting — stretching ramp-up time and training budgets.

For universities

Coursework rarely covers tools, safety, hands-on practice, or how components and systems work, and schools lack a stable link to real roles and the standards employers hire against.

For local governments

When chipmakers move in, the local supply of engineering talent does not keep pace, and talent programs tend to stay as one-off events rather than lasting, measurable results.

What we do

Training, business consulting, and HR consulting

Three practices that draw on the same enterprise, university, government, media, and capital relationships — focused on one thing: helping our clients win.

01

Talent training

Technical and management programs built around real semiconductor manufacturing roles.

  • In-house training for enterprises — technical and management tracks, plus equipment PM (preventive maintenance) training
  • Tiered hands-on training and job-placement services for universities and individual learners
  • Industry training on technology and management for local governments, banks, and investors
02

Business consulting

Targeted solutions built around the business problem in front of you.

  • Strategy decoding
  • Technical consulting
  • Market insight
  • Supplier qualification coaching
03

HR consulting

A clear view of your organization and talent today, with an eye on what you will need next.

  • Organization and talent reviews
  • Organization design reviews (ODR)
  • Talent pipeline assessment
Curriculum · Wafer fab & advanced packaging

A capability ladder modelled on how leading fabs grow their people

Every role, from a new hire to a director, has a learning program matched to the step it is on — with a parallel track for frontline production staff.

  1. 01

    New hire

    New-hire orientation and workplace adaptation

  2. 02

    Buddy

    Buddy program

  3. 03

    Engineer & assistant engineer

    Personal effectiveness

  4. 04

    Team leader

    Team leader program

  5. 05

    Principal

    Principal program and key management skills

  6. 06

    Section

    Section program and supervisory electives

  7. 07

    Department

    Department program and mid-level management

  8. 08

    Director & above

    Senior leadership and leadership development

Frontline production track
  1. Operator
  2. Operator trainer
  3. Production line leader
  4. Senior line leader

Academy disciplines

Each discipline offers process and equipment majors, covering both mature and advanced nodes, from R&D through volume production.

  • Lithography
  • Thin film
  • Dry etch
  • Wet process
  • Diffusion
  • CMP
  • Process integration
  • Yield enhancement
  • Fab facilities
  • Packaging & test
  • Chip design
  • Quality management
  • Business management
Curriculum · Equipment, materials & components

Five talent families, four levels, ten core competencies

Technical and operations courses cover sales, R&D, manufacturing, and delivery for equipment, materials, and components companies. Management courses take staff from self-management through team leadership to running the business.

Sample topics by talent family and level
Talent family L1 · Industry newcomerL2 · Senior engineerL3 · Technical / project leadL4 · Management & executives
Market & sales Marketing, sales, product, applications Industry, fab, and communication fundamentalsCustomer profiling, technical translation, and solution presentationKey-account negotiation and technical reviewsStrategic partnerships and technology-led business
Technology & R&D R&D, process, applications, product Process fundamentals for your product lineProcess integration, yield improvement, and report interpretationProcess pain points, advanced nodes, and spec definitionTechnology roadmaps and product strategy
Manufacturing & quality Manufacturing, quality, supply chain, process improvement 6S, lean, and quality toolsCapacity and OEE, SPC, FMEA, 8DLean systems and supplier qualityQuality as a competitive and organizational strategy
Delivery & service Installation, commissioning, field service, long-term maintenance Fab discipline, cleanroom, EHS, and hook-upMove-in, installation, acceptance, and problem solvingService success and cross-functional collaborationCustomer success and problem prevention
Business & organization All employees, high-potentials, managers, HR, GM / CXO New-hire adaptation and professionalismHigh-potential engineers, self-management, and influenceCoaching, team leadership, and performance managementStrategy, organization, business operations, and capital

The ten core competencies

  1. 01 Business negotiation
  2. 02 Technical value
  3. 03 Process fit
  4. 04 Requirement translation
  5. 05 Lean manufacturing
  6. 06 Quality assurance
  7. 07 Field delivery
  8. 08 Problem solving
  9. 09 Talent development
  10. 10 Business leadership
Hands-on training

From a single component to a production tool

Closed-door bootcamps on real fab and equipment theory, shared training on real components and tools, and participation in real company projects — building up one level at a time.

  1. 01

    Equipment components

    The foundation of every program: 32 tool-use skills (from multimeters to oscilloscopes and RF calibration), 34 hands-on skills such as fasteners, connectors, valves, gas and vacuum line work, and safety, 5 core systems — gas, vacuum, chemical, RF, and cooling water — and 40 component types, from mechanical and vacuum parts to heaters and chillers.

  2. 02

    Process-chamber teardown

    Learners work through a plasma etch / deposition chamber layer by layer — lid and gas inlet, seals, showerhead, chamber wall and liner, chuck / ESC, and the base with its lift pins and facility connections — following a "part, interface, risk, restore" sequence.

  3. 03

    Six equipment subsystems Available now

    Chamber and wafer handling, vacuum and pressure control, process gas and exhaust, RF / plasma power, temperature control and facilities, and electrical control and interlocks — taught in four steps: identify, disassemble under isolation, read parameters, then diagnose and restore.

  4. 04

    Whole-tool teardown Available now

    A cluster-tool view of complete equipment: load locks, the central transfer module, process chambers, and the shared vacuum, gas, power, thermal, and control systems that tie them together — with PM procedures and safety sections as course material.

  5. 05

    Fab visits and production-tool training

    Theory paired with visits to real fabs, and supervised cleanroom sessions on volume-production equipment, so learners see how what they practised maps onto a running line.

Safety first. Teardown work happens only on isolated training tools, demonstration parts, or simulators. Work on live equipment always follows the OEM's procedures, the fab's EHS rules, change control, and each learner's authorization.

In development · AI interactive training

An AI-driven training platform built for chip manufacturing

We are building AI and digital-twin tools on top of our courses and training base, so learners can practise anywhere and every program can be tailored faster.

AI course studio

An AI and agent-based course-development center that uses AI presenters and generative content to produce IC manufacturing video courses faster, and tailor them to each client.

Mixed-reality teardown classroom

A virtual classroom combining live instruction with 3D equipment models, animations, and interactive MR courseware — with multi-user MR headsets and remote teaching across locations.

Virtual production-line labs

Immersive VR and AR labs built on digital twins of common semiconductor processes, so learners can take their first training run in a virtual fab before touching real equipment.

Lingang training base

Recruit, train, and place — in Lingang

Our training base in Lingang, Shanghai was built with Shanghai Lingang Industrial University, which provides the venue and student enrollment, around the in-house training needs of GalaxyCore. ForSEMI Learn runs the base, whose first phase is complete and operational — delivering hands-on training from individual components through the six equipment subsystems to whole-tool teardown. Later phases will add capacity.

  • 100+ learners trained in the base's first phase, in cohorts of about 25
  • A working “enroll in Lingang, train in Lingang, work in Lingang” pipeline into local semiconductor employers
  • Graduates have received offers from companies including TSMC, GalaxyCore, and KFMI
Universities & government

Partnering on talent, not just events

Employers set the brief, and we design the answer — theory, hands-on training, and internships in one loop.

Universities
Industry courses, hands-on training, teacher development, career guidance, and internship-to-job matching — so students graduate closer to the roles local employers need to fill.
Employers
Student training against your job list, pre-employment training for new hires, internship bridging, and in-service programs such as equipment PM — with completion, role coverage, and employer feedback tracked as results.
Governments & industrial parks
A standing talent-service hub rather than one-off events: open days, engineer study camps, and training weeks for visiting universities that bring people and companies into the local ecosystem.
Clients

Trusted across the manufacturing supply chain

We have trained teams at wafer fab, equipment, components, and materials companies, including:

  • TSMC
  • Lam Research
  • NAURA
  • AMEC
  • Skyverse
  • KINGSEMI
  • KFMI
  • GalaxyCore
Leadership

Built by fab veterans and HR leaders

Our founding team brings 20+ years of industry experience from TSMC, Hua Hong, and GalaxyCore, and our expert faculty includes veterans of TSMC, SMIC, and Samsung.

Wen Xu (Sherwin)

Founding Partner & CEO

Previously worked at TSMC and Hua Hong Group in process integration R&D and in market and customer roles, and at a leading Chinese semiconductor consultancy serving chipmakers and local governments. Has led consulting projects for domestic and international equipment and materials companies. Studied materials science and engineering at Shanghai University.

Chen Yan

Dean, ForSEMI Academy

Leads curriculum design and course development. Twenty years in semiconductors, as a senior manager in technology and HR at TSMC and as HR director at GalaxyCore. Experience spans thin-film development, recruiting, and training, with in-depth knowledge of the foundry, packaging, and equipment-materials supply chains and the talent they need.

Kathy

Senior Partner

Heads product development at ForSEMI Academy and is chief advisor for management courses. Nearly 30 years in HR, including more than a decade as CHRO — among them at a leading Chinese semiconductor equipment company. Specializes in HR strategy, organization development, leadership, and talent development. Holds a BSc in physics, an MBA, and a doctorate in management.

Contact

Plan a training program with ForSEMI Learn

Tell us about your teams, roles, or students — we'll follow up with a program outline that fits.

  • In-house technical and management programs
  • Hands-on equipment and components training
  • University, park, and government partnerships