Taipei city to provide training courses for the unemployed

Speaking at the Taipei City Government's Lunar New Year reception, Hau said that the government cannot ignore the fact that the worsening economic situation in the country has resulted in an escalation of the unemployment rate.

"Rather than giving fish to people in need, we want to give them the means to be self-sufficient by teaching them to fish," said Hau.

According to Hau, the Taipei City Government is planning to coordinate with labor-intensive local companies, especially the service industries, to provide the unemployed with professional training courses aimed at reintroducing them into the nation's workforce.

In addition, Hau said, Taipei City's Bureau of Labor and Department of Social Welfare will also provide assistance to low income families and the unemployed.

With the new school year about to start, the Taipei City Government will provide financial assistance through its Bureau of Education to low income families that cannot afford to pay tuition and lunch costs for their children, he promised.

Asked about an earlier proposal to distribute NT$5,000 in food vouchers to each of 10,000 families in March, Hau said that the City's Bureau of Civil affairs is currently engaged in an evaluation process to select eligible households.

"The food vouchers will be issued on March 1, once the social workers have finalized the selection process," said Hau, adding that the food voucher plan will at least give some temporary relief to low income families.

The Taipei City Government's food voucher plan came in the wake of a similar program implemented by the Kaohsiung City Government earlier this year. The Kaohsiung City Government issued NT$1,500 worth of food vouchers to each of 300 low-income families in January.

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