Print

Mail

wiki links

Focus: High speed rail to change face of nation's job market

Michael Lin (林益安), a 32-year-old engineer in pursuit of a new career and better quality of life, is hoping the launch of the high speed rail service will help him as he seeks new job opportunities in booming southern Taiwan, the new home to some of the nation's big electronics companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).

Any move would mean a significant change to Lin's life, after years of working for flat-panel maker HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) in Taoyuan County, northern Taiwan.

"As the launch of the high speed rail cuts the travel time between the nation's two main cities to one-quarter of the existing train journey, I would only need to spend a similar amount of time going home as I did during my last job," Lin said.

Lin has a job interview scheduled for Saturday with Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), based in Tainan, southern Taiwan, where living expenses are much lower. The company plans to recruit 350 engineers during a job fair.

Young engineers like Lin represent a growing trend as more job hunters turn to southern Taiwan for a promising career as concerns about tiring travel are mitigated following the launch of the nation's first high speed railway service.

Indeed, industry observers have said that whenever a big infrastructure project like the high speed railway is launched, it usually has a positive impact on local industries, especially when it makes the distance -- in terms of time -- between major cities much shorter than before.

Hsinchu, for example, will be only a half-hour ride from Taipei compared with an hour on conventional trains, which some say will allow jobseekers to work in Hsinchu without having to sacrifice their Taipei lifestyle.

That would also mean major changes to the long-term imbalance in the nation's job market, according to a recent survey conducted by career service 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行).

In the past, higher job growth and better salaries in the prosperous northern part of Taiwan, especially around the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), have attracted most job hunters from around the nation, but the launch of the high speed railway is set to rectify this imbalance, the Taipei-based job agency said.

The initiation of the high speed railway on Jan. 5 adds a fresh incentive for local firms to set up their headquarters, or second home in southern counties such as Tainan and Kaohsiung, according to the survey.

"The convenience of the bullet train will provide a new incentive for executives to move operations down south as concerns about poor working efficiency will disappear," said Ryan Wu (吳睿穎), spokesman of the Taipei-based job agency, in an interview.

Besides, labor costs and rent are much lower there, Wu said.

"The high speed highway will have a positive impact on Taiwan's high-tech industry as it will be easier for foreign engineers, or high-ranking executives to travel between different sites in one day," said Yang Wen-ke (楊文科), director general of the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區).

But, Yang did not expect the speedy train to boost the job market there because of its pricey tickets.

Manufacturers with plants in southern Taiwan may benefit more, he said.

Some of the nation's larger manufacturers are building new plants, or setting up major operations in Tainan's Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) as the Hsinchu Science Park becomes saturated with electronics and technology firms.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics is expected to hire between 5,000 and 5,500 staff for its new assembly line in the park, said Lu Kuan-pan (呂冠磐), deputy director of the company's Optoelectronics' administrative office, who also attended the job bank's press briefing on Tuesday.

People seeking high-end positions will be more willing to work further from home, the job bank's Wu said, adding that companies located in the south have to hike salaries in order to hire qualified high-ranking executives.

In addition, people who grew up in southern cities, could go back to their home towns looking for jobs as they would have more time to spend with their families, Wu added.

Currently, half of the employees working in companies located in northern Taiwan come from the south, the job bank said.
This story has been viewed 2143 times.