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Some Pacific Island partner
countries are limited by their natural
environment, lack of stable electric
power supply and Internet network,
and opportunities for human resource
training. This has led to an imbalance
between the local need for technical
expertise and the trained personnel
to meet this need, resulting in high
unemployment rate and leaving most
young people without a suitable
channel to find employment.
In 2014, the TaiwanICDF was
commissioned by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to carry out a
Vocational Training Project for
Youth in the Pacific. Since then, we
have worked with the Taichung-
Changhua-Nantou Regional Branch
of the Ministry of Labor's Workforce
Development Agency every year to
implement this project, which aims to
assist six partner countries (Kiribati,
the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau,
Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands)
develop basic technical human
resources and increase opportunities
for local people to acquire technical
and professional skills, so they can
enter the local job market or improve
their standard of living in countries
they emigrate to.
Three Practical Skills, Four-
MonthTraining Program in
Taiwan
Because the economy in the
Pacific Island nations is mainly
composed of small, independent
service providers, most people only
have a junior or senior high school
education and low skill levels.
In addition, the country greatly
lacks technical personnel in the
public services sector. This project
addresses the technical skills needed
in local daily life and provides
vocational training in subjects
s uch a s e l ec t r i ca l
engineering (including
plumbing, refrigeration
and air conditioning),
automotive mechanics
and woodworking. This
year, 30 participants
from six countries in the
Pacific were invited to
receive a four-month
training program in
Taiwan.
Asides from arranging courses
and practical training on various
pro f ess i ona l d i sc i p l i nes and
technical subjects, this project also
coordinates with other activities,
such as introductory courses
on youth entrepreneurship and
visits to companies and economic
infrastructure of Taiwan. This ensures
that students can acquire the basic
knowledge and skills in related
areas of expertise within a short
period and, upon returning to their
home countries, be able to start up
a business on their own and raise
the youth employment rate in their
respective countries.
The Vocational Training Project for
Youth in the Pacific conducted by the
TaiwanICDF not only responds to the
Asian Development Bank's (ADB)
"Strategy 2020," which lists education
as a core area for international
assistance, but also corresponds to
the TaiwanICDF's own "Vision 2022"
and strategy, in which education is an
operational priority.
The development of talent is a
key foundation for raising a country's
competitiveness. Given the rapid
change in the global
economic structure
and diversified labor
ma r k e t d ema n d s ,
t h e Ta i w a n I C D F
w i l l a d h e r e t o a n
approach that focuses
on "comprehensive
planning," "multilateral
c o ope r a t i o n , " a nd
"rigorous practice” in
the implementation of
technical and vocational education
and training projects in the future.
Human resource needs appraisal,
statistics data collection, and partner
countries’ economic development
strategies will serve as a reference
to assess and plan technical and
professional courses that meet the
local needs for entrepreneurship
and employment, thereby helping to
build capacity among local youths
and increasing entrepreneurship and
employment rates.
30
Number of people who
received four-month
training in Taiwan
4
Case Study
The Pacific
Vocational Training Project for Youth