Free Chinese-language classes in Taipei for Indonesian migrant workers are to begin on Sunday to help them better communicate with their employers and gain additional skills, a Taipei City Government official said yesterday.
Two classes are to be held per day over the next eight weeks with a break on Sept. 15, the Mid-Autumn Festival weekend, Taipei Foreign and Disabled Labor Office Deputy Director Rex Huang (黃毓銘) said.
Coursework is to focus on self-expression, communication, writing and Taiwanese culture, he said, adding that the syllabus is designed to give Indonesian caregivers a set of skills they can use even when they return home.
“The course is designed this way, because more than 90 percent of migrant workers in Taipei are caregivers, and we hope to provide them with the basic skill of being able to communicate with their employers and the people they are looking after,” Huang said.
Chinese-language ability would also allow migrants to assimilate more easily into society, he added.
“Let us say they get sick and need to see a doctor,” Huang said. “Of course, they can seek other channels of assistance, but we would like to know that they have the ability to directly explain their health problems to a physician.”
While the course is designed for Indonesian migrants in Taipei, those living in other parts of the nation are also welcome to join, Huang said.
“When migrant workers come to Taiwan, they might stay as long as 14 years, and it is only fair that we give back something, as they are giving us their best years,” he said.
The classes are the second round in a training program initiated by the office on Sunday last week that includes caregiving, cooking, housework and cosmology.
On Aug. 11, another eight-week program with two classes per day and a break on Sept. 15 is to begin, the office said.
The classes are to be held at 7 Qingdao W Rd in Zhongzheng District (中正). Those interested can register by calling 02-2366-1368 or online at https://ppt.cc/fhXBPx.
As of the end of June, there were 707,954 migrant workers in Taiwan, with the most coming from Indonesia (269,826), followed by Vietnam (222,938), the Philippines (154,685) and Thailand (60,503), according to the Ministry of Labor.
There were 46,554 migrant workers in Taipei as of the end of May, 92.5 percent of whom were working as caregivers, office statistics showed.
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