A survey has revealed that four out of every five recent graduates who participated in a government-sponsored corporate internship program said that they oppose the government’s plan to continue the program, the Youth Labor Union 95 said yesterday.
The Ministry of Education recently announced it plans to continue the internship program, which provides businesses with NT$26,000 (US$827) in subsidies per month for each student hired for a one-year internship or short-term work contract. The students are paid NT$22,000 per month for up to a year.
The program, which government officials have repeatedly touted as an effective way to help stimulate the job market after the global financial crisis and assist fresh graduates to find work and gain job experience, has been widely criticized by labor groups and young graduates.
According to a recent survey conducted by the union on 182 interns and young workers who participated in the program, 80 percent said that the program should be discontinued and 65 percent responded that they do not want to stay in the jobs they found through the program.
“Low salary” was the most common reason respondents gave for refusing to participate in the program. This was followed by “actual job tasks are different from initial assignment” and “no professional or on-the-job training received.”
“The program is a way for businesses to exploit young workers under the disguise of offering internship opportunities or work experience,” union executive member Tzeng Hsiang (曾翔) said.
The union said the program was putting a strain on the nation’s new graduates’ job prospects because businesses are now using the NT$22,000 monthly salary as an anchor point when considering compensation packages for young and inexperienced workers.
“The program has been in place for a year, but the government has refused to publicize any statistics or evaluation of the program’s results or to even hear what people have to say about it,” Hsiang said.
The union said officials should stop using the program as a way of inflating employment numbers and that if the program is called an “internship,” then those who participate in the program should not be counted as “employed” or part of the nation’s work force, but rather as “students.”
The group added that monthly salaries for those who participate in the program should be at least NT$25,000, which was the usual salary for recent graduates prior to the financial crisis.
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