The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has promoted an agricultural apprenticeship program in Taichung to finance young people to join and rejuvenate the nation’s aging agricultural labor forces.
The Taichung City Government apprenticeship program has recruited about 100 young people to apprentice with seasoned farmers, with the city government paying each apprentice NT$30,000 per month for a year, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday, adding that the program would help attract more young people to the nation’s aging agricultural sector.
Lin reported on the initiative at a DPP Central Executive Committee meeting, introducing some of the apprentices and farmers in the program.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The apprenticeship program, in a bid to train 30,000 new farmers in 10 years, was introduced in 2015 to connect experienced farmers with aspiring new farmers, Lin said.
About 90 percent of apprentices have continued farming after their one-year apprenticeship ended, he added.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) praised the program for passing farming methods from generation to generation.
“What experienced farmers teach is not simply farming methods. Their social connection and experiences outside of farms are more important assets,” Tsai said.
She asked officials of DPP-ruled cities and counties to propose new policies to develop local agriculture, while instructing the Council of Agriculture to support local governments that are underfinanced.
Ku Ming-hung (古明弘), a former apprentice of the program, said many people view agriculture as a declining business, adding that his parents opposed his decision to take up farming, as there were more financially rewarding options.
The program, which offers stable monthly salaries and new marketing strategies to improve the public perception of farmers, has helped turn around people’s preconceptions of farming, Ku said.
Separately, the DPP said it is to hold three forums starting today on occupational education to encourage a dialogue on reforming the nation’s vocational education system.
DPP deputy secretary-general Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said the nation’s education has overemphasized higher education over the past 20 years, but vocational education, which has trained middle-rank workers who are the backbone of the economy, is in decline, with new graduates lacking practical skills.
“Businesses are in urgent need of [skilled] workers, and it is necessary to integrate hands-on learning and creativity in the educational environment,” Hsu said.
The first forum, at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, is to feature Deputy Minister of Education Yao Leeh-ter (姚立德), vocational education advocacy group director Huang Wei-hsiang (黃偉翔), businesspeople and educators to discuss measures to reform occupational education to narrow the distance between the classroom and the real work environment.
The forum is in its second year and is in line with the DPP’s objectives to reform the education system and promote vocational training, the party said.
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