Rules on foreign white-collar workers eased

Taiwan yesterday eased restrictions on the employment of foreign white-collar workers in a bid to counter Taiwan's shortage of high-tech talent, an official at the Council of Labor Affairs said.

"Requirements on the employment of foreign white-collar workers have been eased effective today," said Huang Hui-chu, a researcher at the ministry's Employment and Vocational Training Administration.

"For recruitment it is no longer necessary that white-collar workers with a masters or a Ph.D. have one year work experience or that those with a bachelor's degree have two years' work experience," she said.

The lifting of requirements on the work experience of foreign specialists is aimed at facilitating the recruitment of such workers in high-tech sectors, including biotechnology and information technology, and boosting the nation's competitiveness.

Meanwhile, a report in a Chinese language newspaper yesterday said that, by next year, Taiwan's high-tech sector will be in need of some 196,000 professionals, but that actual supply from universities and other institutions will only amount to some 150,000 workers.

The report referred to a study conducted by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association.

To meet the nation's demand for high-tech talent, a headhunting mission from Taiwan is slated to travel around America this month, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

The mission, sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National Science Council, is aimed at recruiting high-tech talent to join Taiwan's state-run and private firms through a series of job match-making workshops from Nov. 10-17 in four major cities around the US, an official from Taiwan's liaison office in New York said.

Comprised of representatives from 28 governmental organizations and private companies, the mission will hold the workshops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York to discuss employment opportunities in Taiwan, said Chen Yao-nan, director of the Scientific Affairs Department under the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York.