•Publication Date：05/15/2014
•Source： Taiwan Today
A Taiwan tertiary institution launched the country’s first professional course for electricians and plumbers May 14, with help from the ROC Ministry of Education, in response to the dearth of qualified personnel in these fields.
Kaohsiung City-based Fortune Institute of Technology in southern Taiwan has invested NT$20 million (US$662,000) to establish a technological center for electricians and plumbers. The new center is fully equipped with laboratories for students to gain practical experience with plumbing, electrical circuitry and fire prevention systems.
Trained personnel will never be short of a job, FIT Chairman Lo Chwan-jin said, who added that people have the mistaken belief that basic salaries for these jobs are low.
The ROC Architectural Institute and local plumber and electrician unions have numerous jobs on offer with starting salaries beginning at NT$50,000 to NT$60,000 per month (US$1,655 to US$1,987), but cannot find suitable workers, according to Lo.
FIT Vice President Gabriel Lu added that the nation’s some 6,800 plumbing and electrical firms have at least 2,000 vacancies on their books, and are especially keen to hire people 18 to 40.
More than 10 firms and unions signed cooperative agreements with the center at the opening ceremony. One company boss claimed that fully qualified workers who also passed the firm’s own testing procedures could earn more than NT$1.5 million per year.
At the launch of the course the trainees received their tools from their teachers in a traditional ceremony. The trainees first kneeled and paid their respects before a statue of Lu Ban (507-444 B.C), the patron saint of tradespeople. Their teachers then presented them with their tools, including a tape measure, screwdriver and pliers. The students finally swore an oath of good conduct.
FIT Innovation Incubation CEO Lo Shih-hsiung described the symbolic importance of the tools presented. The tape measure can be used as a gauge of one’s ambition, the screwdriver represents the need for attention to detail and the pliers symbolize getting a firm grasp on the future, he said.
