Taiwan seeks hi-tech talent in Santa Clara

A hi-tech recruitment mission from Taiwan held a two-day job fair at the Santa Clara Hyatt Regency Hotel on Nov. 13-14th. It was the first leg of its ten-day four-city tour to the United States, offering more than 1500 positions for medium to high level managers and engineers to work in Taiwan.

This is the seventh such mission initiated by Taiwan’s government to attract professionals from the US since 2003. At a press conference, Chang Jin-fu, cabinet minister and leader of the mission, said this mission differed from previous ones in that it was seeking more overseas talent for Taiwan’s six emerging industries. In addition, the mission demonstrated Taiwan’s ability to bounce back in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Chang said the recruitment mission had successfully hired over 3,700 professionals to work in Taiwan in the last six years. This year the mission is made up of 25 companies and eight research institutions, offering at least 1,538 jobs in management, engineering, semiconductor research and development, information technology, optical-electronics, metal materials, biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing and green technology.

Over the past few decades, Taiwan has built a solid foundation in semiconductors, flat panel displays and information technology geared towards the overseas market. Hit by the global financial crisis, Taiwan’s hi-tech markets have shrunk. In the face of this reality, Taiwan’s government has taken an initiative to promote six emerging industries: biotechnology, tourism, green energy, healthcare, quality agriculture, culture and creativity.

The mission this year provided more job opportunities in the six emerging industries in addition to those in the semiconductor sector. In order to facilitate the recruitment of international talent, Taiwan’s government has recently approved the issuance of “Employment Passes,” “Scholastic and Commercial Travel Passes,” and “Permanent Residence Cards.”

Companies joining the mission with job openings included Chi-Mei Optoelectronics, Delta Electronics, Chunghwa Telecom, Macronix, Etron, Gemtek, Brickcom, Hon Hai, Mediatek, Cadence, Davicom, Arcom, Asia Pacific Microsystems, Coban Asia, Everlight Electronics, LePower, PharmaEssentia, Shenmao, Parts Channel, Applied Materials, and Impax.

After its stop in California, the mission headed to Dallas, TX, Chicago, IL, and Boston, MA, before returning to Taiwan on Nov. 23rd. Beside recruiting new employees, the job fair also promoted investment in Taiwan and forged connections with the US hi-tech enterprises.

According to the Taiwan Trade Center, San Francisco, who was one of the sponsors of the two-day job fair in Santa Clara, there were 381 on-site registrations at the one-on-one job interview site, a 47 percent increase over 2008. The total number of interviews conducted this year was 910, a 23 percent increase over last year’s figure. Among those interviewed, 28 people were hired and committed to work in Taiwan.