Starting from today, international students and overseas Chinese students as well as those from Hong Kong and Macau can work as fulltime housekeeping staff, receptionists and waiters in the hotel and lodging industry, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The new policy is being implemented to address labor shortages in the hotel and lodging industry in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, particularly as workers are needed for housekeeping, cleaning, booking and reception, as well as hotel dining areas, the Workforce Development Administration said in a statement.
Hoteliers and bed-and-breakfast operators that have certificates issued by the Tourism Administration and local governments can file applications to recruit international students and overseas Chinese students, as well as those from Hong Kong and Macau to fill mid-level jobs, it said.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Government
The number of overseas Chinese students and international students that hoteliers are allowed to hire must not exceed 30 percent of the workforce covered by labor insurance, it added.
The students must have at least an associate’s degree and have undertaken at least 80 hours of internships provided by universities, colleges, the Tourism Administration and other tourism associations to qualify for the program, it said.
The starting salary for qualified students in the program would be NT$30,000 per month, which would be raised to NT$33,000 if their contracts are renewed.
The agency added that it would work with other government agencies to propose amendments to related regulations and establish a work permit system for the students. Such a system would make it possible for more of them to be recruited to replenish the workforce in other sectors such as healthcare, cargo transportation, and the logistics and warehousing industries, as well as the highway and city bus systems, the administration said.
“We will work with the National Development Council, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to jointly evaluate how to use these students more effectively to address the labor shortage problem,” it said.
It said the students can apply for a work permit in accordance with regulations during their studies and use their spare time to work in Taiwan. The maximum number of working hours per week is 20 hours, but there is no limit on the number of working hours during the winter and summer vacations. Meanwhile, employers still need to abide by the working hour regulations of the Labor Standards Act when hiring overseas students.
The Regulations Regarding Study and Counseling Assistance for Overseas Chinese Students in Taiwan (僑生回國就學及輔導辦法), which is enforced by the Ministry of Education, defines “overseas Chinese students” as students of Chinese descent who come to Taiwan to study, who were born and lived overseas until the present time, or who have been living overseas for six or more consecutive years in the immediate past and obtained permanent or long-term residency status overseas.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
RSS