A West German institute recently rated the productivity among workers in the Republic of China as being second best in the world, next only to Singapore. Visitors to the ROC who have seen the diligence, discipline and high education levels of workers will not be surprised by this assessment. Making a big contribution to high worker standards are the vocational industrial schools scattered all over the island of Taiwan.
When Taiwan's economy was dominated by labor-intensive industry, there was little need for professional workers. Today, with technology-intensive industry becoming more and more dominant, there is a shortage of such people. This changing economic situation has stimulated the development of vocational training.
All major industrial enterprises have established their own training programs. To orchestrate development, the government established a manpower planning committee under the Council for Economic Planning and Development in 1967. A year later, the first industrial vocational center was established at Taishan under the sponsorship of the United Nations. In 1972, the government ordered that vocational training fees be collected from all mining, manufacturing, construction, public utility and communications enterprises.
Because of the lack of a powerful and centralized leadership, the vocational training program ground to a halt, and the collection of training fees was suspended in 1974. The result was that factories could not find suitable workers and job seekers could not obtain professional skills.
In the years between 1974 and 1978, 52.81 percent of junior high school graduates joined the labor force, but 70.83 percent of them had not received pre-employment training. Recent statistics show that some 50 percent of all job vacancies can not be filled, particularly in such fields as machinery, electrical machinery, chemical engineering and electronics because of the lack of professional skills.
To make up for this shortage, colleges and universities have expanded their facilities to train more engineers, and a vocational training bureau was established in March under the Ministry of the Interior to workout a sound vocational training program.
According to projections drawn up by the manpower planning committee of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Taiwan will require more than 55,000 technicians at the basic level in each of the next 10 years. Of this number, 30,000 will be trained by vocational schools, 15,000 by enterprises, and the remaining 10,000 by vocational training organizations.
Since there are only 5,039 training positions vacant, the vocational training bureau is busy preparing a second training center in Taipei, a vocational training center in southern Taiwan and a municipal vocational training center in Kaohsiung. The new Taipei center is under construction, and after machinery and other equipment are installed next year, it will offer 780 training positions.
At present, there are 10 vocational training centers in Taiwan. The Central Taiwan Vocational Training Center, the southern and northern Taiwan vocational training centers operated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Taishan vocational training center operated by the Ministry of the Interior, the first youth vocational training center run by the National Youth Commission, the northern provincial vocational training center, Taipei municipal vocational training center, eastern Taiwan vocational training center, and a vocational training center for retired servicemen.
All of these vocational training centers are well equipped, and have the best available machinery. This is particularly true of the central Taiwan vocational training center, which is the best or second best in the Far East in terms of equipment. Employers stand in line to hire its graduates, and some pay pocket money to students during their courses in return for a promise that they will join the firm in question after graduation.
Tuition is free in these vocational training centers, and in some cases, free board and lodging is provided also. The government spends between US$1,000 and US$3,000 to train one skilled worker, indicating how much importance is attached to the program.
Because graduates have better chances of employment and can earn more pay, many young people aspire to enter training centers. The most coveted training is in the fields of welding and lathe and machine tool operation.
As "midwives" for Taiwan's skilled workers, these vocational training centers have laid a solid foundation for upgrading worker skills. Graduates of the centers often join international skill competitions, and come home with gold and silver medals. They provide proof that everyone in the Republic of China can "rise from the ranks" if he works hard.
Besides offering vocational training, the vocational training bureau conducts skill tests and has established a certification system to upgrade manpower quality.
Skills tests have in fact existed for several years, but the certificate issued had little authority. Industry was reluctant to accept certificates as a basic yardstick in employing workers and deciding pay-scales. As a result, trainee technicians were also reluctant to take the examination. The main sources of the problems were the lack of meaningful rules, disorganized administration and poorly designed questions.
The vocational training bureau plans to centralize the preparation of questions, and the Vocational Training Act has provided appropriate protection for the employment, promotion and pay of certificated workers. It stipulates that a worker possessing a Class-C technical certificate may be regarded as a senior vocational school graduate, a worker with a Class-B certificate as a junior college graduate and with a Class-A certificate as a college graduate. It decrees that state enterprises and government organizations should promote their technicians on the basis of results of skill tests.
People in Taiwan are still obsessed with college education. Each summer, about 100,000 senior high graduates vie for approximately 30,000 college vacancies by participating in a grueling joint entrance examination. Some students value the results of the examination so much that they even attempt suicide if they fail. This mentality would undoubtedly change if an authoritative skills certification system could be established.
[Picture Caption]
The equipment of vocational training institutions has been modernized in keeping with the pace of the nation's industrial development. Among them, the Central Taiwan Vocation al Training Center is the largest and its equipment is also the best, even in the Far East. Pictures 1, 2, & 3 show the milling machine, metal plate, refrigeration and electric welding shops of the training center. Picture 4 shows a trainee is engrossed in drawing.
1. Trainees learn refrigeration and air-conditioning skills. 2. Installation of a central air-conditioning system. 3. Shih Chung-liang, this year's world champion for machine milling, is at work.
1 & 3: The lathe shop of the Central Taiwan Vocational Training Center, and trainees learning installation of an interior electric wire system. Picture 2 shows Liu Ming-hsien participating in the watch repairs category at this year's world vocational training contest. He won an honor prize.
show the milling machine, metal plate, refrigeration and electric welding shops of the training center.
show the milling machine, metal plate, refrigeration and electric welding shops of the training center.
shows a trainee is engrossed in drawing.
Trainees learn refrigeration and air-conditioning skills.
Installation of a central air-conditioning system.
Shih Chung-liang, this year's world champion for machine milling, is at work.
The lathe shop of the Central Taiwan Vocational Training Center, and trainees learning installation of an interior electric wire system.
shows Liu Ming-hsien participating in the watch repairs category at this year's world vocational training contest. He won an honor prize.
The lathe shop of the Central Taiwan Vocational Training Center, and trainees learning installation of an interior electric wire system.
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