The government is planning to extend its special employment program for foreign students to include graduates of vocational schools and two-year colleges.
Since July last year, when a points system for foreign graduates of local schools was introduced, 852 applications have been received and 693 had been approved by the end of last month, Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Steven Chen (陳士魁) said at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Under the terms of the program, applicants are awarded points in eight categories, including Chinese-language ability, educational level and special skills.
Last year, 2,000 places were set aside under the program that makes it easier for foreign students to work in Taiwan after completing their education, since it forgoes the previous requirements of at least two years’ work experience and a job offer with a minimum monthly salary of NT$47,000.
Under the new terms, the points system and quota do not apply to foreign graduates of Taiwanese schools who obtain an employment offer that carries a monthly salary of at least NT$47,000 per month.
Noting that the 852 applications received last year were well short of the quota of 2,000 places, Chen said the program could be expanded to include foreign graduates of local vocational schools and two-year colleges, who would help alleviate the shortage of skilled labor in the nation’s manufacturing sector.
He said many of the foreign students in Taiwan are children of Taiwanese businesspeople in Southeast Asia who would benefit from work experience in Taiwan.
The council hopes to encourage more young people from Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines to come to Taiwan for vocational training and to stay after graduation, Chen said.
Taiwan’s points system is similar to the work-visa systems adopted by some European countries and in North America.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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