Wages improve for Taiwan university graduates

2015/12/18

Average wages and job opportunities are on a steady growth track for tertiary institution graduates in Taiwan, according to a joint survey released Dec. 16 by the ministries of Education and Labor.

University graduates in the summer of 2011 earned an average salary of NT$25,246 (US$770) per month in their first year out, which grew 8.15 percent to NT$27,304 a year later and 31.31 percent to NT$33,151 in 2014.

Prospects were even rosier for those graduating in the summer of 2013, the study showed. They started with an average of NT$26,032 per month in the first year, and saw the figure advance 8.71 percent to NT$28,299 in the second.

Conducted in July 2014, the survey comprised data from 1.2 million graduates holding associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.

According to the study, junior college graduates leaving school in 2011 registered a 32.92 percent rise in average salary from NT$24,169 to NT$32,125, over a three-year period. Those who entered the job market in 2011 with master's and doctorate degrees started at NT$38,395 and NT$59,318, respectively, before seeing their salaries grow 19.36 percent and 17.01 percent during the same period.

At the same time, employment figures augur well for Taiwan’s tertiary institution graduates. MOL statistics revealed that 33.59 percent were able to find their first jobs while 78 percent were insured in three months after finishing school. The average time it took to find a job was 1.94 months.

MOE Deputy Minister Chen Der-hwa said these positive developments show that efforts aimed at improving Taiwan’s job market have paid handsome dividends in the past three years.

“Based on the results, junior college and university graduates experienced greater salary growth than their counterparts holding doctorate or master’s degrees,” Chen said. “In contrast, those holding advanced degrees have delivered generally more stable performances and are less likely to switch jobs.

“The MOE will continue collaborating with other relevant government agencies on steps paving the way for an even more seamless transition from the campus to the workplace.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=240321&ctNode=2194&mp=9)