Premier Mao Chi-kuo stated today that the government has formulated measures in three major directions to replenish the domestic labor market:
1. Attracting outstanding overseas students to study in Taiwan and then stay for work.
2. Recruiting overseas technological talents and keeping outstanding talents in the country.
3. Retaining blue-collar technicians.
The premier made these remarks while presiding over the fourth meeting of the Executive Yuan's human resources policy committee. He explained that the government has formulated these measures because the nation's population will soon undergo a structural transformation, and the labor market is experiencing the "high-out low-in" phenomenon—referring to highly educated talents exiting and low-skilled workers entering the domestic labor market.
In the meeting, the Ministry of Education (MOE) reported on augmenting the mechanism for attracting outstanding students to Taiwan. The National Development Council (NDC) and the Ministry of Labor (MOL) reported on the progress on establishing an action plan for attracting outstanding overseas students to work in Taiwan. The NDC's strategies to attract and retain talent as well as the MOL's plan to replenish blue-collar technicians were also discussed.
After the MOE briefing on its enhancement of the mechanisms to attract outstanding students to Taiwan, the premier instructed the ministry to continue implementing related tasks and to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) to develop new sources of students from other countries. Moreover, in order to link the national policy of keeping overseas students in Taiwan to work after graduation, the premier tasked the MOE to coordinate with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and other relevant agencies to enlarge the program of overseas students taking internships or short-term training at enterprises.
Regarding the report by the NDC and MOL, the premier pointed out that the program has already established a "points-based quota" mechanism for recruiting overseas students to work in Taiwan. However, in order to reinforce the program's effectiveness, Mao instructed the MOE, OCAC and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) to enhance communication with students who are already in Taiwan as well as during promotional activities for attracting overseas students to Taiwan.
The MOEA is to strengthen communication with domestic enterprises in order to facilitate replenishment of talents necessary for developing new and emerging markets. The premier also asked the MOL to invite relevant ministries and agencies to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of the program by the end of the first year of its implementation.
Mao emphasized that Taiwan will face a serious labor shortage in the future, as the working population will decrease approximately 150,000 per year from 2016 onward. In order to help solve this problem, Mao asked the MOEA as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology to review and strengthen industrial automation policies and measures.
The committee requested relevant agencies such as the NDC, MOFA, MOEA, MOE and Ministry of the Interior to carry out the NDC's "brain gain" strategies based on the following major orientations: recruiting foreign and retaining domestic talents, offering competitive employment conditions, and maintaining an environment that attracts these talents to stay in Taiwan. The NDC was also asked to formulate a detailed plan and submit it to the Executive Yuan for review.
The MOL's plan to replenish blue-collar technicians will designate a "points-based quota" mechanism for relevant foreign talents to help them stay in Taiwan and make up the nation's shortage of technically skilled labor. The committee decided the MOL and NDC must coordinate with other agencies to conduct a policy assessment of the plan as soon as possible, as it would involve revision of the Employment Service Act and other related legislation.