A shortage of high-tech workers has been forecast for Taiwan's six major high-tech industries in the next two years, according to a report on Saturday.

The survey, conducted jointly by the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute and two other organizations, forecast a shortage of between 10,000 and 54,000 workers during the 2006-2008 period, subject to how the economy performs.

According to the survey, which covered the semiconductor, biotechnology, thin-film-transistor-LED (TFT-LED) manufacturing, telecommunications, information service, and digital content industries, a total of 140,000 jobs will be created in the six sectors if the economy experiences a boom.

Even if the economy's performance is only lukewarm, there is still to be a shortage of some 106,000 new workers.

However, Taiwan's colleges and universities will only turn out 96,000 graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills to work in these fields.

The semiconductor industry is expected to lead among the six sectors in terms of job opportunities, with 33,600, followed by the biotechnology sector with 22,000 and the TFT-LED manufacturing sector 13,900.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2006)