Domestic enterprises expressed widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of interns hired under a special government subsidy program, but more than 90 percent said they were willing to keep at least some of the interns on for a second year, a poll conducted by 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行) has found.
In a survey of 458 companies conducted by the job bank between March 31 and last Tuesday, the respondents gave the interns an average score of 41 on a scale of 100 for their job performance, with 34.62 percent of respondents giving their interns scores of between 21 and 40.
The main causes of dissatisfaction were the interns’ attitude toward their jobs and early termination of their contracts, the survey showed in results released yesterday.
However, 92 percent of the companies said they were willing to keep the interns after their one-year contracts expired, and 52.32 percent were willing to offer them formal positions.
A spokeswoman for 1111 Job Bank said that the apparent contradiction between the high disapproval rate and the willingness to retain the interns was related to two factors.
First, companies participating in the program hired five interns on average, so even if they were only willing to rehire some of their interns, they would still be included among the 92 percent willing to retain the interns.
Also, because many companies had already invested in training and familiarizing the interns with their operations, the employers were more willing to hire the experienced interns than new recruits, the spokeswoman said.
Under the internship program launched in the middle of last year to curb unemployment among young adults, the government provides subsidies to businesses that offer one-year internships to people who graduated from a university or college within the previous three years.
Businesses receive NT$26,000 (US$826) per month for each new graduate hired (including subsidies for health and labor insurance), and the interns are paid NT$22,000 per month.
Open to 34,000 people, the program is still employing 29,265 interns.
Most of the jobs are related to planning and design, marketing and trade, and business management, the survey showed.
Of the companies responding to the poll, 68.75 percent have raised their interns’ salaries, with an average monthly salary of NT$23,651 paid to each intern, the survey found.
More than half, or 57 percent, of the companies said that if they rehired the interns, they would raise their salaries by an average of NT$1,280, the survey showed.
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo (盧瑞麟) is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it. The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the territory’s biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world. “It was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,” Lo said. “You see more Asians, but you’re still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We’re looking for more opportunities
RSS