The First Talent Circulation Alliance (TCA) International Job Fair was held in Taipei on September 28 with close to 1,000 attendees.
In cooperation with Legislator Karen Yu’s (余宛如) office, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) co-hosted its first international job fair with All Hands Taiwan, a volunteer organization that helps foreigners to find jobs and settle in Taiwan.
International professionals and students had a chance to explore career opportunities at the TCA job fair with established companies like Taiwan’s flagship electric scooter maker Gogoro, a Tokyo-listed security software firm Trend Micro, software startup Taroko, and more.
As Taiwan-U.S. relations are at their closest since 1979, collaboration on talent — a key element for national competitiveness and sustainability — is becoming a priority between Taiwan and the United States.
TCA was launched in April as an initiative bringing together AIT and a broad range of Taiwan government agencies, including the National Development Council (NDC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and more. The alliance is a joint effort between Taiwan and the U.S. to promote globalization and the digital transformation of Taiwan's industries.
All Hands Taiwan, initially an English website that provides resources on working in Taiwan, has attracted a big international community over the years. Its co-founder, Sean Wilson, said the organization hopes to serve as a platform between Taiwanese employers and foreign talents.
“We hope to bring together global talent in overcoming language barriers and reduce stress around procedural barriers, such as obtaining visas and work permits, especially around the lack of available information for Taiwan-loving foreign talent and their future employers,” said Wilson.
Legislator Yu opened the event by emphasizing the importance for Taiwan to address its declining and aging population, an issue that can be alleviated by adopting a more welcoming attitude towards foreigners who wish to work and live in Taiwan. She mentioned being previously labeled as the “godmother of foreign white-collar workers” for her advocacy of expanding and improving the conditions of foreign talent in Taiwan.
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To push forward its New Southbound Policy, the Taiwanese government has also relaxed visa rules for foreign professionals to encourage job-seeking visits, especially for those in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand since 2016. The NDC is also focusing on bilingual initiatives to make Taiwan more accessible to English speakers.
Aside from students and working professionals, some entrepreneurs have also attended the event, such as Wei-Cheng Hsieh, the chief operating officer of CakeResume. Hsieh told The News Lens that his company is “on a mission to become Asia’s largest talent platform.” He said CakeResume is currently the fourth most popular staff platform in Taiwan with over 300,000 active users according to Alexa Traffic Rank.
The participation of both companies and professionals at the TCA job fair demonstrates a new level of acceptance in Taiwan’s job market for foreigners. With the U.S. Senate Committee passing the TAIPEI Act last week, the TCA job fair shows yet another sign of the U.S. showing strong support as an important strategic ally.
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TNL Editor: Daphne K. Lee (@thenewslensintl)
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