A short-term program launched by New Taipei City (新北市) will help young adults better prepare themselves to find and hold a job, a city official said yesterday.
Introducing the initiative, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said young adults generally entered the job market with little to no experience and were easily frustrated by rejection at job interviews.
“Many young people become lazy or turn into otaku after having a hard time finding jobs,” he said, referring to the Japanese term for often anti-social people with excessive interests.
The trend is reflected in the relative level of unemployment among new job seekers. The unemployment rate in the 20 to 24 age bracket in Taiwan last year was 13.51 percent, far higher than the overall unemployment rate of 5.21 percent.
The city’s new program, which runs run from this month to June, targets students who will soon graduate from local technology colleges and universities and includes visits to potential employers and a 16-part lecture series on how they can improve their job prospects.
The city will also organize four career and employment exhibitions, to take place at four Taipei universities starting next Thursday, Hou said.
The deputy mayor reminded young job seekers to be aware of “job traps,” especially advertisements for highly paid jobs that have no specific requirements, such as skills or academic qualifications.
Job seekers should also be aware of situations in which people ask them for personal data, such as bank accounts or credit cards, that could be used unlawfully, or require them to buy large volumes of products before their jobs formally begin, Hou said.
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