Download PDFThe European Chips Diversity Alliance has published the largest study to date on why technical talent stays in, or leaves, the European semiconductor sector. We’re grateful to the Alliance and to the report’s author, Nessa Maguire, for giving the industry solid data on retention, and for allowing us to share it here.
Two findings stood out to us. Engineers 8 to 15 years into their careers have the least trust in how progression is decided. And of those planning to leave their employer, nearly half haven’t yet decided whether to leave semiconductors altogether. The ecosystem still has a chance to keep them.
Some of what keeps them doesn’t have to stop at company lines: being heard, seeing other paths forward, and growing alongside peers from other organizations. That idea is behind MESH™, the cross-company mentorship pilot we recently announced with imec as institutional partner and ecosystem builder.
The full report is available below.
The Next Talent Crisis: Retention Risk in the European Semiconductor Sector (2026). Written by Nessa Maguire for the European Chips Diversity Alliance (diversityinchips.eu). Shared with the author’s permission. The European Chips Diversity Alliance is co-funded by the European Union and has received funding from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) under project No. 101140006. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA.
