At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Chen Chien-jen received a briefing from the Ministry of Labor on the second phase (2023-2026) of the government's youth employment investment program. Phase two focuses on strengthening in-school career guidance, expanding high-quality industry-academia collaboration, guiding cross-disciplinary learning and the cultivation of digital talent, and helping young people in atypical employment (low job security part-time or temporary work) to transition to more secure full-time employment. These measures will assist young Taiwanese to more easily find work and promote Taiwan's economic development and national competitiveness, the premier said.
To support young people in finding employment, between 2019 and 2022 the government implemented phase one of the program, which despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has achieved concrete results. The unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 29 was 8.38% in 2022, the lowest rate since the global financial crisis of 2008 and an improvement from 10.76% in 2009.
Premier Chen said the second phase focuses on key factors for industry development and directly tackles five core issues of public concern relating to youth employment: career development, manpower supply and demand, youth unemployment, youth wages, and atypical employment. Integrating resources from 11 ministries and agencies, the program puts forward goals and strategies to assist young people in setting a career direction, fostering skills, facilitating employment, obtaining fair pay and transitioning to full-time employment. The premier called on relevant ministries and agencies to promote the program and carry out rolling reviews to ensure its efficacy.