An Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) report published last month showed that there is a lack of college graduates who meet corporations’ expectations of employees who can speak foreign languages and have knowledge of international affairs.
The service administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language, Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the Graduate Record Examination, which were used for the June report, which was conducted in June.
The report, focused on large Taiwanese corporations’ management of personnel versed in foreign languages and knowledgeable in international affairs, showed that the average TOEIC scores of college students was 499, which is lower than the standard accepted by most corporations.
While 93 percent of polled corporations placed an emphasis on employee knowledge of international affairs, only 68.4 percent required employees to be conversant in English, the report said.
UNHAPPY
Only 18.1 percent of corporations were happy with their employees’ level of English-language knowledge, with 7.3 percent of corporations initiating programs to help their employees learn English, the report said.
There is a clear divide between the expectations and efforts to maintain an international competitive edge by local companies, it added.
SCORES
The report showed that the average TOEIC score was lower than expected averages — 564 for universities and 407 for vocational schools — and failed to meet corporations’ requirements.
The manufacturing industry looks for employees with a TOEIC score of at least 522, the service industry looks for employees with a TOEIC score of at least 564, and the banking and finance sectors require a TOEIC score of at least 652, the report said.
UNIVERSITY
Shih Chien University department of Applied Foreign Languages professor Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) said whether students could find a job after graduation was an important index for the effectiveness of universities.
College students should seek to improve their chances of finding a job, guarantee their ability to move internationally and demonstrate their capacity to learn beyond their field of study, Fengchia University dean Lee Ping-chien (李秉乾) said.
ACQUISITION
Students would greatly improve their ability to find a job by acquiring necessary certificates, taking advantage of any chance for short-term or long-term internships and mastering one foreign language, Lee said, adding that having the chance to live abroad and demonstrate ability in multiple fields are also big advantages.
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