In Germany the dual vocational training system already has a history of more than 100 years. Much of Germany's economic success has been attributed to the capable labor force well trained by this system that closely links theoretical knowledge with practical training.
Many attempts have been made to transfer this highly successful system to other countries. Surely there are positive as well as negative examples for those attempts and even within Germany there are some critics of the vocational training system. This year the German Trade Office Taipei is supporting the Employment and Vocational Training Administration of the Council of Labor Affairs together with the Ministry of Education to promote German-style dual-track vocational training in Taiwan. Why did we decide to implement this system in Taiwan?
First there is demand in the labor market for qualified workers in Taiwan. Education in Taiwan is often very much focused on theoretical knowledge and less on practical training. Thus many enterprises complain about the difficulties in finding staff they really need. Often new employees have to be trained on the job for a considerable time and since job rotation is high, they sometimes leave the company shortly after they finally acquire the needed skills. This vocational training project is thus specifically targeted to overcome these problems.
Second we want to offer Taiwanese students another career path. People who do not have the means to go to university now have the opportunity to become successful at work.
For the pilot project four professions have been selected. Due to Taiwan's strength in the IT-sector we chose two IT professions; the Management Assistant for Industrial Business (Industriekaufmann) and the Management Assistant for Hotel and Hospitality (Hotelfachmann). Because aircraft maintenance mechanics is a very complex subject, the start of this project has been postponed. The training will take three years, every week two days will be taught in school and three days are practical training in enterprises. The EVTA subsidizes every traineeship with a total of NT$150.00. After the successful completion of the training the trainees will not only get a junior college degree issued by the Ministry of Education but also a certificate from the German Association of Industry and Commerce.
Even though time was very tight right from the beginning, we had some quite impressive results. Since we knew about the critical attitude towards this system in Germany we were surprised by the enthusiasm of many Taiwanese companies for this project. After a short promotion period 69 Taiwanese and 9 German invested companies were willing to join the project. They offered a total of 809 traineeships. This was much higher than our expectations. Our first target was a mere 500 traineeships!
Of course there will be many problems to be overcome in the beginning. Since the concept is new to Taiwan there are many questions from the participants. We try to enforce a good communication structure by setting up regional structures, we train the trainer in the companies how to manage this project and we teach key persons on the relevant issues of this project.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique