The Council of Labor Affairs will help local companies recruit white-collar professionals from the Czech Republic and Poland, a council official said yesterday.
Kuo Fang-yu (郭芳煜), director of the Employment and Vocational Training Administration, made the remarks after he returned from a fact-finding visit to the two East European countries on Wednesday.
Headed by council Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊), Kuo and several other council officials visited the Czech Republic and Poland last week to promote bilateral cooperation in vocational training and exchanges of professional technological personnel.
High-tech headhunting
According to preliminary agreements reached during the visit, Kuo said the council will set up a high-tech industry headhunting Web site to be linked with Czech and Polish official labor information networks.
The new council Web site will be inaugurated before the end of December, which will enable local high-tech companies intending to recruit foreign professionals to post their job descriptions and contract terms, Kuo said, adding that the Web site will also give an introduction in English on manpower demand, labor regulations, work environment, social insurance system and other related information.
Kuo said the Czech labor department has shown keen interest in the council's plan and will cooperate with the council in promoting bilateral technological personnel exchanges.
The two sides will hold an industrial cooperation conference late this year to further discuss concrete personnel exchanges and talent cultivation cooperative programs, Kuo said.
Quoting official estimates, Kuo said Taiwan needs a large number of high-tech personnel over the next three years, particularly in the semi-conductor, telecommunications, imaging and optoelectronics fields.
Given the fact that the annual unemployment rates in the Czech Republic and Poland are 9 percent and 20 percent, respectively, and that the average monthly salary for white-collar workers there is just about NT$20,000, Kuo said Taiwan's job market should be attractive to technological professionals from the two countries.
Enhancing ties
Noting that several large information-technology companies, including Honghai, First International Computer and ASUSTek Computer, have set up plants in the Czech Republic, Kuo said senior executives of these firms are generally satisfied with the quality of the workforce.
Kuo said the council will also cooperate with the Ministry of Education and the National Science Council in offering scholarships to attract Czech and Polish students to study and then work for a specified period of time after their graduation.
If the cooperative projects with the Czech Republic and Poland proceed smoothly and successfully, Kuo said, the council will seek to set up such projects with other EU members, particularly former Eastern bloc countries.
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