Taiwan's first green energy job fair attracts up to 16,000

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Premier Wu Den-yih expressed hope that the green energy industry can become a fully-fledged industry and create more job opportunities for locals.

“We hope that the green energy industry will be a leading force behind Taiwan's economic growth in the future,” Wu said. “We also hope that industries with high efficiency and high value but with low carbon emissions will take root in Taiwan,” he added.

Of the nation's six newly emerging industries, the green energy industry in Taiwan has developed rapidly over the past few years, the premier said.

Citing data released by the Lausanne-based Institute for Management Development (IMD) in July, Wu said that in terms of green technology competitiveness, Taiwan ranks sixth globally and second in Asia, behind Japan. Taiwan commands a 25 percent share of the global output of LED products, Wu said.

Economics Minister Shih Yen-shiang, who was also present, said that Taiwan is widely considered to be one of the countries in the world that have the ability to develop a viable green energy industry.

Shih stressed that the green energy industry in Taiwan boasts strong support from well-developed semiconductor, photonics, machinery, materials and electronics industries.

“Taiwan aims to play a leading role globally in the field of green energy applications in the future,” Shih continued.

The minister said the output value of the green energy sector now accounts for 5 percent of Taiwan's aggregate industrial production, and the figure is expected to surge to over 30 percent by the end of 2020.

At the moment, Taiwan is already the world's largest producer of energy-saving LED lights and also the fourth-largest maker of solar cells globally, according to the Bureau of Energy under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Taiwan's green energy industry will generate an output value of over NT$200 billion (US$6.3 billion) and create 20,000 job opportunities this year, the energy bureau said.

The output of the industry is expected to reach NT$1.16 trillion by 2015, the bureau estimated.

Several heavyweight firms were among the participants in the fair trying to solicit new employees for their green-energy business operations, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Sino American Silicon Products Inc., Au Optronics (AUO), Nanya Technology Corp., Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., Teco Corp.

Rick Tsai, president of TSMC's New Businesses, said at the fair that the TSMC will demand at least 500 to 600 employees to support the firm's long-term development of green energy technologies.

Yeh Yin-fu, chairman of Everlight Electronics, said his firm has decided to create 500 job openings for qualified job seekers, dedicated to the development of LED illumination technology and products.

Chairman Lu Ming-kuang of the Sino American Silicon Products Inc. noted that his company is planning to expand its workforce to over 6,000 people by the end of 2015, 2.5 times the existing figure of 2,400 to support the firm's expansion in the production of silicon wafer for solar cells.

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