One of the things I have learnt investing in startups is this: everything is easy until you are asked to do it. Largely, most challenges in markets appear simple, until you begin to find ways to solve those problems. Where am I going? There is nothing like cutting corners in building nations. The US has some of the finest workplace systems in the world, but over decades, it did not invest in the “base level” of its manufacturing sector, preferring to outsource to Asia. Now, it wants those Asian firms to come to invest, but the problem is that these companies cannot find the talent required to run the new plants.
In the semiconductor industry, I was a global lead ASIC designer. My job was to lead in designing microprocessors. And immediately we finished the design in Boston, everything was sent to Asia where they do the physical translation of those extracted CAD files into real devices. A few weeks later, they will send the samples back to Boston for testing. What they do in Asia is theory for most of our base engineers!
That model is causing problems now; in Arizona, a big project cannot happen because the US does not have the technical talent for running advanced foundries:
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“TSMC, the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer by revenue, has announced delays in making its big new Arizona plant operational. As Fortune’s Nicholas Gordon reports, the big reason is TSMC’s inability to find enough skilled technical workers, though high building costs are also a problem. The company is trying to send more Taiwanese workers to Arizona to get the fab up and running.”
This is the summary: whether in Nigeria, Japan or the US, if you do not create a future, that future will not come. Here, the US did not create that technical pipeline, and it has none of it. Of course, the US is lucky since this is just a small component of its economy. Imagine nations which do not even try in any phase. Indeed, building a nation is not done by wishful imagination; you must create a future in order to predict it
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When I write about our dearth of talent and capabilities, most don’t get it, but I say these things because I witness them firsthand regularly. We are talking about US having shortage of specialized skills in foundry, does Nigeria even have skilled plumbers and tilers, how many can you find across board?
The big and small structures dotting our cities, including hotels and malls, many look good from afar, but how many of them have you gone close to the walls both interiors and exteriors, and were pleased with the quality of finishings done? Quality practical skills virtually don’t exist in our case, our blue economy is yet to take off, but we want to do big things at the high ends…
Well, we are raising a generation of content creators and influencers, including those that identify as experts and consultants, with 6 months experience or immediately upon graduation. We are more money conscious than acquiring actual capabilities, so even when commanding large fees, the deliveries remain subpar.
There’s a whole lot of work ahead, because first thing is to know and admit that you have a problem, so that appropriate solution can be designed. Something is being worked out at scale, it remains to be seen if young people are ready.