HMRC guidelines likely to affect contractors

HMRC and what we must disclose

Due to new HMRC guidelines introduced in April this year, we as an agency need to now report quarterly gross payments being made to any limited company or umbrella company contractors who work with a client through IC Resources. This is the same for all agencies within the UK and if you are currently working with IC Resources you will have already been contacted for information that we now need to have on record in preparation for these audits.

How will the regulations help HMRC?

The regulations will provide HMRC with information that will enable it to decrease false self-employment and abuse of offshore working.  This will help HMRC to:

• support intermediaries that comply
• penalise intermediaries that don’t comply
• make sure the right tax and National Insurance is paid by people working through intermediaries
• reduce unfair commercial advantage

For more information on the guidelines, please read this HMRC article.

There is obviously some concern from contractors as to how this will affect them and what this means long term for contractors and protecting their business finances. Essentially only time will tell as to how this information may shape new guidelines and contractor legislation in future, however in the short term, the onus is on the recruitment agencies to provide this information, and as long as your tax deductions are in-line with financial regulations and are seen as a true contractor, there is no need for any concern.

If you have any questions about contracting, please do contact us.

DANE SMITH

PRINCIPAL CONTRACTS CONSULTANT

#recruitment #contractingjobs #electronicengineeringjobs #HMRC

Google it!

Is it or will it ever be OK to use the internet in every aspect of life, being heavily involved in technology I thought so. I discussed this with my daughter, Caitlin Carey, whom just having completed her AS exams was surprised to hear an exam board suggest the possibility of using the internet during exams.

Google It by Caitlin Carey

Here is what she said on the topic:

Nowadays, the internet can be used for pretty much everything; a calculator, dictionary, thesaurus... These objects have been used in schools for a long time, but are now more conveniently found online, for those who do not want to heave around a large book. Recently, the chief of the exam board OCR (Mark Dawe) has said he believes that Google should be allowed in exams.

Whilst it cannot be denied that the internet has become a very large part of modern society, should it really be used for exams? An argument in favour of the idea might state that it makes exams more realistic and applicable to everyday life. It is true that the internet has become an intrinsic part of working for many, so using it in exams could be preparing you for a lifetime of using the internet in real life. A frequent complaint of current exams is that the methods and knowledge used is irrelevant and may never be used again in later life. Therefore it could seem plausible that using the internet in exams would be appropriate.

This use of Google in A-levels and GCSEs would still involve interpretation of information, and would involve utilising the tools that are available to us in life. Of course, the time of internet available would be limited and only for certain exams, as stated by Dawe, therefore might not just be giving people an easier way of passing exams. On top of this, there’s a lot of text recognition software out there, to prevent plagiarism - programmes that can scan to see where something has been lifted or copied from a website.

However, this attempt at prevention is unconvincing. As I’m sure anyone who has ever had a confusing piece of work due in the next day will know: It is very easy to take a paragraph and just re-word it. Whilst this may be acceptable for unimportant pieces of homework, it shouldn’t be that easy for an actual exam. It just encourages cheating in the real world, and stops people having their own ideas. For an English exam for example, it’s so easy to look up interpretations of poems rather than coming up with your own. Consequently, this just spawns thousands of identical answers and a lack of individuality. For a physics paper, a quick Google search will turn up many of peoples PhDs posted online. It essentially takes away from what is actually inside a person’s head and just leads to regurgitation of other people’s work. No more individuality or unique ideas.

The Campaign for Real Education has spoken against the idea, say it is “dumbing down”. In our country, we are three years behind the Chinese at age 15. Should our laziness and reliability on technology worsen this gap further? Subsequently, this use of technology would “lower [the] credibility” of exams, as it isn’t testing intelligence or memory. No. It would be testing who is better at doing a Google search. It could lead into losing that sense of accomplishment at doing something hard and succeeding. Though this use of the internet will inevitably become part of exams in the future, perhaps the education system and society isn’t ready for such a change yet.

Whilst the internet is a useful commodity in the real world, it perhaps shouldn’t be used in exams as it could take away from testing actual intelligence and detract from originality.

EVA CAREY   RECRUITMENT MANAGER

Electronics & Engineering Division

How marketing has changed for advertising jobs

‘’It stands to reason that should a market change with the ebb and flow of technology and new developments, then so should the way in which the said market is advertised. Few markets are subject to as much change as the job sector, particularly in the last 10 years, meaning that the services provided by a recruitment advertising agency have developed dramatically.’’   The Accord Group, 25 June 2014

Like all marketing, recruitment advertising is ever changing. Over the last 10 years there has been a big move from ‘old’ to ‘new’ marketing techniques, as a result of the birth of social media platforms combined with the development of smartphones. Advertisers must adapt and modify their content to the way the audiences consume them and this is paramount for the recruitment industry, with 2 billion users and potential consumers currently on the internet.

There are myriad platforms - LinkedIn, Xing, Facebook, Twitter and a vast range of ‘online job boards’. These ‘new’ techniques offer a fast paced and ever-updated forum for finding and advertising jobs and therefore, recruitment agencies have had no choice but to evolve with the market, and it has been essential for agencies to improve their online appearances to stay ahead of the competition.

IC Resources’ online marketing has moved with the digital age and, as has been our policy since inception, is staying ahead of the game.  You can find us here:

IC Resources website 
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
G+

THOMAS HUGGINS 

SENIOR CONTRACTS CONSULTANT

Get your company to buy you an Apple Watch!

What company wouldn’t invest £299 on an insightful afternoon training course to boost your productivity?

Efficiency and memory, specifically in my work place are two of the key factors of success and a diary plays a large part in this; whether you have an old school, leather bound journal and fountain pen like my colleague Dave, or integrate your life into a cloud based calendar system.

I am the latter, regularly having 10-15 “events” each day which are delayed, brought forward or cancelled more often than stuck too. I needed a system to provide a non-intrusive reminder for each call or meeting I arranged and the ability to change these on the fly, as and when needed.

With this efficiency in mind, there is also pressure to be available at every given moment and react to new leads, despite the time of day. My inbox receives 150-300 emails per day, some are urgent and others will go straight in the “trash”. Trying to fit as much into one day as possible and not miss an opportunity, I religiously check my emails up until I go to bed and the first thing I check in the morning are my emails. I know this might shock some people who won’t even consider working past 6 o’clock, but for many of my colleagues; not so much.

I needed a system which would provide non-intrusive updates, especially at home, but also limit the desire to reply to every email, unless it is absolutely necessary. It’s not that I am necessarily lazy; I am just a big believer that technology is the answer to making life as easy as possible. It should lead to greater efficiency and comfort of current tasks.

I’ve long awaited the announcement and release of the Apple Watch, and having received mine two weeks ago, I’ve seen the subtle benefits it has had during my work day and when I’m at home.

When I’ve been asked what it does, the first thing I say is that it makes my life a little easier and makes keeping on top of work better. I don’t think I’ll be getting reimbursed for my purchase just yet, but 6-12 months from now, it will not surprise me at all to see them becoming as essential as company cars, laptops, phones and tablets………or even the odd afternoon training course.

CHRIS MOFFATT

SENIOR CONSULTANT

Get yourself noticed - the perfect ASIC design CV

There is a sea of information out there telling you how to write the perfect CV. What there isn’t much of, unsurprisingly, is information on how to write a great CV specifically for a career in chip design. Here is some advice on what hiring managers in the ASIC design world really want to see on your resume, which will increase your chances of getting an interview.

CV length

For an experienced engineer, a CV should be no more than 4 pages. For graduates, CVs should ideally be 2 pages. You want to make your CV as easy and attractive to read as possible.

Your profile

This should be a few lines stating what you are, the amount and type of experience you offer and what you’re looking for. Graduates - make sure this profile is tailored for the sort role you are applying for; for instance, if you’re applying for a role in digital IC design, avoid mistakes such as stating that you’re looking for a role in embedded systems. Be specific!

Technical content

This can be tricky, as it can be difficult to know how much technical information is too much, or not enough. Most importantly, make it crystal clear what you have done. For instance:

Have you designed IP blocks / modules, or have you done chip level design?
Have you been responsible for chip level architecture?
Have you architected an SoC, or implemented something from a specification?

These are all things that managers will want to find out. Make sure to include several paragraphs to illustrate your main projects and what your specific responsibilities were. A list of bullet points is never enough.

In general, managers really want to see the most recent projects (the last 2-5 years, which for complex projects should only be 2 or 3 projects), with detailed descriptions of exactly what you did in these projects. How did you do it? What tools / programs / methodologies / languages did you use? This approach is preferred to a description of the project as a whole, or what you did within the wider team. Managers will want to find out what you have coded, how you’ve verified that code, and the tools you have used in the flow.

Layout and format

Bad formatting is a huge turnoff. Make your CV easy on the eye, and make sure your formatting is neat. Avoid using tables, and make sure to space out your text. Clear white spaces between paragraphs go a long way!

Career gaps

If you’ve been out of industry for a while, it’s a good idea to say what you did during this time. Gaps in your career history aren’t typically considered a bad thing, so don’t be afraid to say you went off to try something new for a bit, travelled round the world, or were job hunting – the main thing is to avoid unexplained question marks.

If you would like any advice on how to make your CV stand out from the crowd, I’m always happy to help.   Feel free to contact me.  Please also check to see if you might be suitable for the ASIC design jobs we am currently recruiting for.

CAROLINE PYE

PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT

Will we be the forgotten digital generation?

I read an interesting article about the almost insatiable desire to digitise everything and how this will potentially impact us all in the future.

Not wanting to be a harbinger of doom, but is the drive to store everything in the cloud going to mean that, in generations to come, no-one can access any of this information?

We might save trees by not storing everything on paper, but we might lose a generations worth of history!

Would be interested to hear your thoughts about the digital generation, please do email me..

To see what roles we have on offer that could contribute to creating innovative solutions to this potential problem, check out all our open semiconductor, software, electronics and user experiences jobs.

MATT ANDREWS 

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

UK Semiconductor Giants – The Best Companies to Work For

After noticing that Intel made Glassdoor.com’s Top 50 Best Places to Work list, I wanted to dig a little deeper to find out how our home-grown leaders fare against this, and as it turns out the result is as top-notch as their technologies!

Both ARM and Imagination Technologies, two of the UK’s biggest success stories, scored a fantastic 3.7 and 3.6 respectively, showing they can give Intel’s impressive 4.0 a run for its money in the coming years.

An ARM employee said “It is great to work for a very successful company at the forefront of the tech and communications industry.” (They are) “Increasingly involved in new markets - servers, internet of things etc - which brings lots of opportunities for personal growth and development.  The company strongly promotes a healthy work culture whether work/life balance, work environment, general health and well-being and respect for your peers.”

A view that is fully supported by ARM’s exceptionally well run promotion program, and the fact that many of their engineers spend their entire careers there very happily. Imagination, the relative ‘youngster’ of the two, embraces its recent success by remaining true to their young, friendly atmosphere, allowing their engineers to flourish as they choose, with the full backing of the company;

“Friendly people, exciting company philosophy, it is really interesting to work there. The company is leader on the GPU for mobiles market, and so the projects are amazing. Not too much pressure from the hierarchy, we can feel really involved in the company achievements.”

(Engineers at Imagination) “Develop leading technology across multiple fields so there are numerous interesting projects to be part of / learn about. Growing very rapidly so opportunities for career development as teams have to scale. Very exciting times as the company becomes more well-known and talked about. Invests heavily in its employees so it’s not a company people want to leave.”

Well done Britain, we do love working here!

Advice on recruiting - from recruiters

If it is new to you then the ‘snapping wolves’ of highly motivated recruitment consultants trying to find their next placement can be a daunting world to enter.  Regular calls, emails and these days texts regarding everything from relevant or irrelevant job specs, CV tips, general enquiries or even interview requests ‘out of the blue’ can give you the feeling that you are not the one deciding your destiny.  It is pretty easy to become swamped, the process to fall out of control and leave you feeling you are driftwood caught in the tidal ebb and flow of job hunting.

As an industry we have to recognise that whilst everyone is actively providing advice on CV writing, interview techniques, offer negotiation and acceptance, resignation submission – in fact every step of the process once you have engaged - advice on how best to manage your own application process is harder to come by. So how do you get the ‘wolves’ working as a pack of sled dogs driving you towards a goal that you have decided upon?

Here are some basic tips for you to initiate and hopefully help to avoid the pitfalls:

1) Diarise:  This is an invaluable step to visualising, tracking and understanding your process and progress.  It does not take much of your time to maintain a spreadsheet of the date, client name, position, consultant and agency responsible as well as how that opportunity is progressing for you. You need to know where you are!

2) Control: At all costs you want to avoid your personal details (CV) being submitted to clients without your permission. The idea that having your CV spread as far and wide as possible will bring you more opportunities is simply wrong and from a client’s perspective receiving the same CV from multiple channels for multiple different roles within their organisation can cast doubts over even the most apparently suitable of CVs.  Better the approach of the sniper’s rifle targeting the perfect role than a machine gun approach hoping to find a target!  Make it very clear that none of your selected agencies are to submit your details to any client / vacancy without first gaining your permission for that specific opportunity.  It is your process and your responsibility to select the roles and clients that you feel are appropriate.

3) Tricks: a couple of scenarios to look out for:
“Our client wishes to remain anonymous at this stage” – this can be a hard one to manage, you have to rely on your own judgement and the strength of your relationship / level of trust you have with the recruiter concerned.  Just bear in mind that you could be giving that agent carte-blanche to send your details to any (or every) company they know.
“Congratulations, we have secured you an interview with…” – but it’s with a client or opportunity that you have not previously discussed.  Don’t be dazzled by the fact there’s an interview on offer – has this consultant / agency followed your instructions, should they benefit from working in such a manner?  Why not decline the offer of an interview through that company and contact a consultant you do trust, explain the situation and request their assistance?  They will gladly help, contact the client to explain and will manage the process for you with your best interests in mind. You are rewarding the person you trust and you will have the confidence that they are treating you as an individual, and not just a CV!

So the key message is that it is your career, your future so it is your responsibility to manage the process. By taking control, tracking the process, selecting specialist agencies and managing how they work, you will ensure that your chosen direction is the one that is followed.

GSA Executive Forum

Last week, IC Resources exhibited at the GSA Executive Forum in Munich. The format this year emphasised panel discussions and a “fireside chat” between Joep van Buerden, the CEO of CSR and Rick Clemmer, the CEO of NXP. Therefore there was plenty of good debate and discussion. The presentation by Henri Seydoux, the founder and CEO of Parrot, was particularly well received and entertaining. Nothing like a UFO-esque tablet-controlled helicopter to intrigue a group of tech execs!

The mood seemed the most buoyant for the last 2-3 years, with the majority of equipment suppliers and service companies feeling optimistic about the 2nd half of 2013.

Oh and Paul Malisse of IMEC won a bottle of very fine (we hope) single malt whiskey in our prize draw…next one at Cambridge Wireless’ International event at the end of the month….

IC Resources is a trusted business partner to a wide range of semiconductor companies around the world, ranging from international blue chips (Intel, Broadcom, TI, Qualcomm, Infineon, ARM, TSMC, etc) to pure start ups.

GSA's mission is to accelerate the growth and increase the return on invested capital of the global semiconductor industry by fostering a more effective ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation.

Reaching the Gods of Semiconductor Equipment

Looking at the Semiconductor Equipment Sales over the last 5 years is akin to plotting a roller coaster ride. We’ve gone from the highest of highs and been hurtled towards the floor at maximum velocity!  But we climbed out of the depths and now find ourselves looking back down with relief on where we were, but still striving to get to the elevated heights we’ve reached in the past.

This is, in the main, a harmonious and co-operative industry (which is why we enjoy being part of it so much!) We assisted one another out of the 2008/2009 chasm, where unfortunately some stayed, but as an industry we overcame the crisis and now look forward (we hope) to another healthy climb upwards. 

We’re at an interesting point.  Mt Semicon’s crown is hidden by cloud, and we cannot currently see the top. Finding profit below 20 nm and / or in 3D structures may mean we take two different paths to get there! The good news is that with TSMC’s new fab, Intel’s new Haswell Chips, and many  fab/foundries poised for an upgrade,  many of us are still striving to stand alongside our very own Gods, Messrs Shockley, Kilby and  Moore (nominations still open for inclusion in the pantheon). And of course to do this, our clients have begun that search for labour - for the skills needed to bring their company beyond the clouds and into the sunlight on the mountain peak. Do you have the skills to make that last climb? Are you the final element needed by an ambitious team of climbers  to reach the top?

Share your thoughts with us…

The UK ASIC market: not-so-little Britain

How times have changed from a few years ago!

The ASIC market in the UK has come a long way from the murkiness of 2009, and, happily, we’ve since seen the demand for top-notch ASIC / SoC designers increasing year on year.

This has, in large part, been as a result of the enormous success of “home grown” powerhouses such as Imagination and ARM. But success breeds success, therefore in recent years we’ve seen an energising trend with foreign companies recognising and tapping into UK design competencies and setting up shop on our shores; NVIDIA's acquisition of Icera and Samsung’s purchase of part of CSR being two recent high profile examples. This has resulted in a lively market in areas from telecommunications and wireless communications to digital media to GPU computing.

There’s no doubt that the silicon landscape in the UK has changed; we’re now seeing strong UK-owned market leaders intermingled with myriad overseas investors; many of whom are calling for experts in RTL Design, Verification and Physical Design.

All this makes for a very optimistic outlook for the rest of the year!

The Rise of Formal Verification

In the past, Formal Verification was something often discussed and rarely implemented, pushed aside for simulation based techniques. With only a select few specialists in this area the technology that has been around for over a decade looked set to sit on the bench, despite its obvious advantages in reducing the time and cost of ASIC design, when compared to standard functional verification techniques.

Here at IC Resources, we have noticed a shift in this trend in recent years, with a huge rise in the demand for engineers with formal verification experience, and indeed for specialist engineers concentrating solely on formal verification and its development. So where did this come from?

A definite source has been the growing number of researchers concentrating on formal methods, who have joined companies with the specific intention of expanding the use of these techniques to improve functional verification, and succeeding! With the rising complexity of IC designs, formal verification is now more important than ever, and looks set to become a standard part of all future verification plans. Hooray!

Click on the links below to view all the formal verification opportunities available today, and get involved!

Formal Verification & Validation Engineer - London
Formal Verification R&D Engineer - Cambridge
Principal Verification Engineer - Cambridge
Digital Design Verification Engineer - Bristol
Staff Verification Engineer - Sheffield
Senior Verification Engineer - Munich

A day in the life of IC Resources

Good news for IC companies in the UK

Late last year, Neil Dickins (a founder of IC Resources) worked closely with NMI to submit two detailed reports to government about skills shortages in our sector.

This work has resulted in IC Design Engineering and IC Test Engineering appearing on the Skills Shortage List, which makes obtaining visas for such professionals a quicker and easier process.

Hopefully this will help the UK to convince foreign companies / investors thinking about setting up new design centres that the UK is the right place to do business.

Any questions, please contact us asap.

First Time Attending Global Semiconductor Forum (GSF)

IC Resources is one of the sponsors of this year’s GSF event, taking place 13-15 March in Shanghai.

Neil Dickins, one of IC Resources’ founders and directors, is looking forward to networking with some of the semiconductor community’s leading lights. This is clearly a critical and in some ways uncertain time for the IC manufacturing sector, with Moore’s Law stretched to breaking point and the commercial benefits of moving to smaller nodes being questioned in many quarters. What is certain (based on the impressive speaker list) is that this year’s conference will offer up questions, answers and insights from a range of individuals who are the forefront of our industry.

IC Resources has a dedicated China division, therefore Neil will be interested to discuss commercial requirements (sales / marketing semiconductor jobs) throughout greater China, as well as commercial and technical semiconductor jobs throughout Europe.

IC Resources is one of the world’s leading semiconductor recruitment organisations; a number of our senior consultants originally hail from within the semiconductor industry.

UKESF’s Scholar of the Year Award

One of IC Resources’ primary clients, CSR, was recently indirectly recognised in an award presented by the NMI.

Rares-Mihai Popa received the UKESF’s Scholar of the Year award at this year’s NMI annual extravaganza….Rares-Mihai, of University of Edinburgh, was sponsored by CSR for his work experience, where he contributed to a number of IC design related projects for CSR.

Rares-Mihai Popa receives UKESF scholar award from Derek Boyd, CEO, NMI and Neil Dickins, IC Group

Digital IC Design - end of year review

Caroline Pye (Senior Recruitment Consultant) and her colleague Clare O'Brien (Recruitment Consultant) recently wrote the following newsletter for their contacts in the Digital IC Design community.
 
The Merry (aka Wet and Windy) Month of December is nearly upon us! I thought this would be a good time to send an update to everyone in our Most Excellent and Revered Digital IC design community. Hopefully this is helpful – any comments or questions would be most welcome.

1. Highest Demand Since 2008

There has been a significant increase in the number of companies seeking new digital IC design and verification engineers over the last three months, from an already busy baseline. The average number of requirements within companies has also grown – for example one company in three is seeking at least five engineers. Please see below for specific details, covering UK, Europe and Far East – you’ll note that there are very few locations where engineers aren’t in high demand!
 
UK

South West

• Principal ASIC Designer – Communications
• Digital ASIC Lead / Manager – new design group, wireless space
• Digital ASIC Design Engineers – MULTIPLE! 2-20 years experience. Graphics / Video / Comms / Processor / Power management
• Senior FPGA Designers – Video encoding/decoding (MPEG, H264 etc)
• Junior ASIC Design Engineers – MULTIPLE! Grads in high demand to 3 years experience
• ASIC Verification Engineers – Senior / Principal, global brand
• Physical Design Engineers – Senior role, high level of technical challenge
• Physical Design/IC Layout Lead – established IC consultancy

Thames Valley

• Graduate VLSI Engineers – FPGA, Networks, famous global firm
• Graduate Hardware Design Engineers – ASIC/FPGA, superb telecoms company
• Senior SoC FPGA Design Engineer – Berkshire
• Senior ASIC Verification Engineers – Berkshire, SystemVerilog, OVM
• Digital ASIC Design/Verification Engineer – wireless, SystemVerilog
• Physical Design / Implementation Engineers – Several! RTL-GDSII, rapidly growing firm

Home Counties

• Graduate ASIC Design Engineers – lots!  Video / Graphics / wireless connectivity
• Digital Research Engineers – computer arithmetic, datapath design, mathematical operations in silicon – considerable challenge
• Senior ASIC/FPGA Design Engineers – several! Video coding / Networks / Multimedia
• Physical Design Engineers – from graduate up to around 7 years exp, leading UK firm
• Principal SoC Video Architect – H.264, HEVC

Cambridge

• RTL Design Engineers – MANY! From 2-20 years experience. Graphics, Video, wireless -  Blue chip and start-up.
• ASIC Verification Lead – high-speed Ethernet networks
• ASIC Verification Engineers – Yes please! Senior & Principal level, Graphics
• FPGA Hardware Designers - highly dynamic high-tech company specialising in electronics and software – superb technical challenge

Midlands / North

• Senior ASIC/FPGA Design Engineer – URGENT - Manchester - Networks/data storage
• RTL Design Engineers – Midlands - image processing, 2-20 years experience (multiple)
• Principal ASIC Design Lead / Manager – Midlands - ultra high speed network products
• Principal Physical Design Engineer – Midlands
• Senior ASIC Verification Engineer – Sheffield, processors

Scotland

• Principal Digital Chip Design – Edinburgh, Audio
• Physical Design Engineers – Edinburgh, 3-10 years experience

Northern Ireland

• Digital ASIC/FPGA Design Engineers – Belfast, 2-10 years experience, VHDL

EUROPE
Eire

• ASIC/FPGA Designers, 2-10 years experience, Cork
• Principal ASIC Design Engineers - (x2) Limerick
• RTL Design Engineer – award-winning fabless semis company, Dublin 

Austria 

• Senior DSP Digital Designs (x2) – Automotive sector. Lovely location!
• Physical Design Engineers – URGENT - junior and senior
• Digital ASIC Design Engineers – several! Junior and senior, power management

Germany 

• Munich - Senior Digital Design Engineers – IN DEMAND!
• Munich - System Architect – Munich, digital power management products
• Munich - FPGA Hardware Engineer – German speaker
• Munich - Senior / Lead Digital Verification Engineer - huge growth prospects
• Stuttgart - Digital Design Engineers – yes please, microcontrollers and power management
• Southern German border – Digital IC Designer – ideally with microprocessor experience

Scandinavia 

• Sweden – ASIC/FPGA Designers – Several! Video processing, superb global firm
• Sweden – RTL Design Engineers – junior and senior, wireless comms.
• Norway – Principal SoC Verification Expert
• Norway – Principal ASIC Graphics Designer

Spain 

• Seville - Digital Physical Design Engineers – sunny location, fantastic city
• Seville - Front-end ASIC Designers – RTL Design, CMOS camera technology
• Madrid – Digital ASIC Design and Verification Engineers – Several! Spanish start-up

FAR EAST 

• Malaysia - Physical Design Engineers – LOTS! Place & Route skills please,  2-10 years
• Malaysia - Digital ASIC Verification Engineers – 2-10 years experience
• Malaysia – Engineering Director - Kuala Lumpur
• Taiwan – Senior/Lead DFT Engineer - 3D IC technology

2. Demand Drivers

After the wireless revolution of the last decade, a number of new trends / technologies are driving this demand for cutting-edge skills:

• Ultra low power devices are sought for long-battery-life connectivity in areas such as The Internet of Things (the IoT) and remote healthcare monitoring.
• The evolution of SoCs to include a greater proportion of GPUs over CPUs is a development that will influence architectural design over the coming years.
• The need for higher processing power at lower power consumption is keenly felt by networking companies, as more and more information is stored in the Cloud (is that why we’re having record levels of rainfall??).
• The Connected Home (and the potential business models associated with in-home connectivity) is an area of great potential in terms of innovation / new business models.
• The ever-increasing integration of electronics within cars is also driving demand for robust designs (note that we foresee a trend over the coming years of car manufacturers bringing electronics design engineers in house, rather than relying on third party suppliers – though whether this will extend to IC design remains to be seen).

3. UK and European Skills Shortage

The skills demand also results from a chronic lack of enrolment in technical degrees over the last number of years. Different European countries are dealing with this in different ways. In our opinion the UK’s current immigration policy is working against the industry and cutting the skills supply to certain companies, thus forcing them to set up elsewhere and/or restricting their ability to compete internationally. The restriction / uncertainty on graduate immigration is particularly concerning - the students who pay good money to study in the UK / Europe are no longer allowed to stay and work at the companies who desperately need them! This seems illogical, as graduates are most likely to establish a life here and become important contributors to the industry (and the exchequer!) for many years to come.You may feel this as a controversial view, and I’d be happy to hear your own opinions. Neil Dickins, one of IC Resources’ founders, has been asked to sit on a UK Border Agency advisory board. We’re keen to represent the views of the industry and would like to hear from as many people as possible. FYI the industry is waking up to the skills shortage. Two interesting programmes of many:

NMI’s skills foundation www.ukesf.org and Teen Tech www.teentechevent.com

4. Increased Recommendation Scheme

This skills shortage means that your help in identifying new people is of course all the more valuable. I hope that any recommendations come from goodwill, in that you believe we’ll provide a valuable and professional service to the person you recommend to us. Nonetheless it seems right that we should say “thank you” in a more concrete way than just saying “thank you”! Therefore we’re currently happy to extend our recommendation scheme from £500 pounds to £1000 pounds, depending on the seniority of the person recommended.

5. Next Year

Recent economic news seems mixed, but given the points mentioned above we’re hopeful that there will still be plenty of hiring next year within the European digital IC design and verification community. From what I understand, there are also blue chip companies and investment groups sitting on significant funds, so who knows, it might also be a better year for start ups and SMEs. Fingers crossed……..

…..and in the meantime, all the best for the rest of this year. I hope you enjoy a well deserved break and festive holiday season (in just 3 weeks time!). I’d be very happy to hear from you with any updates on how you’re doing, or with any questions / comments about this newsletter, or the market in general.

All the best,

Caroline Pye (and Clare O’Brien, your very own Verification Recruitment Specialist)

PS The IC Group has launched mobile websites….see www.ic-resources.com

RF and Analog IC design - end of year review

Leon Morrison, Senior Consultant, recently wrote the following newsletter for his contacts in the RF and Analog IC design community.

Once again the Merry (aka the Wet and Windy) Month of December is nearly upon us.  I thought this would be a good time to send the 2nd Annual Analog Almanac to our  Most Excellent and Revered RF and Analog IC design community. Any feedback, comments or questions would be most welcome.

The General Picture

Design activity and the demand for skills remains strong, with a wide range of companies throughout the UK and mainland Europe busy on new designs. At the recent Future Horizons IEF conference, Maria Marced (President of TSMC Europe) said that RF and Analog has grown from 60% to 80% of the European market since 2008 (note I’m not sure this included IP, as ARM and Imagination must make up a good chunk). See article below.

RF, Analog and Mixed Signal IC design skills are in high demand, with a current “spike” in CAD/PDK Support and Design Methodology positions. Layout requirements have been low for a number of months – this may be a natural design cycle, or a trend within companies to outsource / take on contractors – however there are 2 layout roles in the UK. I work closely with Dan and Tom in our contracts division so we offer full permanent and contract cover across Europe (and certain other international locations).

Specific Trends / Skills

1.   Over the last few years, as Analog design has evolved, some companies have become more specific about the “sector” experience they’re looking for. Currently three primary sectors of interest are:

• Power Management
• High Speed
• RF IC (High Frequency)

2.   New areas such as Smart Home, Remote Healthcare, Smart & Renewable Energy, Connected Car, etc. are driving Analog and RF skills demand. Of particular interest is the Internet of Things (IoT) (see another article below). Current demand is spread geographically:

• RFIC:    Cambridge, Thames Valley, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland
• Analog / Mixed Signal IC:   England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, even Malaysia and Singapore

3.   Some of the jobs we’re currently working on are in particularly interesting technology fields – 4 highlights include:

• Envelope Tracking – very challenging full custom Analog designs
• Imaging for space applications – client’s chip on Mars rover!
• NFC – creating new business models with smartphones
• LTE for next generation wireless communication

Work Permits
 

Certain countries seem to be waking up to the fact that they have a chronic skills shortage, so are slowly becoming more open to work permits. In the UK it is possible to obtain work permits but the bureaucracy and cost is making the majority of companies hesitant to undergo the process. Neil Dickins, a founder of IC Resources, has been asked to participate on an advisory board to the UK Border department, so if you have any comments or views on this issue please let us know.

IC Resources News

IC Resources (and the IC Group) has continued to grow over the last two years. We’re pleased to announce the addition of Peter Markl to the team, who will head up a new Munich office for us. Peter has more than 25 years of semiconductor experience.

We’ve also launched mobile websites – see www.ic-resources.com  on the move!

Recommendation Scheme

 

As always, we’re keen to hear from strong RF or Analog IC Design engineers as well as CAD/PDK and layout professionals. We hope that recommendations are made because you trust our service, but we should also say “thank you” in a concrete way. Therefore for anyone reading this newsletter we’re happy to raise the highest value our recommendation scheme to £1000 (depending on seniority).

Getting in Touch

Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments about this information, or about the market in general. I’d love to hear an update from you, either professional or personal.

All the best for December, the holidays (only 3 weeks away) and of course next year. And remember…..the REAL world is ANALOG.

Links:
Maria Marced / EIF:    Click here
Internet of Things:   Click here 
Leon Morrison: LinkedIn
Peter Markl: LinkedIn

 

Cheers, Leon
Senior Consultant
+44 20 8400 2483  | +44 20 8400 2444 

www.ic-resources.com goes mobile

We’ve launched a mobile website to run alongside our current platform www.ic-resources.com. 

Semiconductor professionals who are using the site from any mobile device will have an easy search functionality and the ability to apply for semiconductor jobs quickly and easily.

Email and, of course, calling are also options for finding out more information on the market or a particular job.

Electronica

Electronica 25th International Fair for Electronic Components, Systems and Applications
13-16 November 2012, Munich

We sent a contingent of 6 consultants to Electronica this year, and there was hardly a pause in the talking over a three day period. The one notable exception was at an excellent restaurant, when we paused to savour some good Bavarian food and well earned fermented hops. The restaurant was chosen by our new German consultant, Peter Markl, who is heading up our Munich office. Peter has been in the high tech arena for more than 25 years, so he renewed many old acquaintances at Electronica as well as establishing a number of new working partnerships.

The show was busy and had more companies from China and Taiwan than ever before. The number of UK companies actually exhibiting was probably slightly lower than in previous years but the UK Networking area, sponsored by the UKTI, was always busy and proved a valuable resource for arranging meetings in a slightly less manic environment than most.

Overall, the general mood can be split into two categories:
1. Technical: development activity is continues at a heated pace and the vast majority of companies are hiring, or would like to hire if budgets allowed!
2. Commercial: subdued in the leadup to end of Q4 but quiet optimism regarding next year.