How to find a job in Taiwan

What types of jobs are available?

How to find a job in Taiwan

The local graduate workforce is highly skilled and consequently non-Mandarin speaking professions are quite difficult to find. Job opportunities for unskilled personnel is in general, even more limited.

The language barrier

The official language of communication in Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese. Taiwanese is also spoken, but Mandarin Chinese is more widely used in the workplace. Learning Mandarin Chinese will therefore boost your chances of finding a job, as many businesses may require fluent English with a working knowledge of Mandarin.   

A full list of language training academies affiliated with the Universities or local colleges can be found on The Ministry of Education in Taiwan’s website .

Professional jobs

Many expatriates working professional jobs in Taiwan are usually employed by multinational companies and then posted to Taiwan. 

Teaching English

English teaching jobs on the other hand are in high demand, both in private academies and in Taiwanese schools. You will usually only be required to speak English to a high standard.

Which industries should I look into?

  • Prominent industries: IT and electronic products are the most significant industries. While other popular industries include: chemicals; biotechnology; petroleum refining; shipping; motor vehicles; iron and steel; machinery; cement; and food processing. Other industries that may be of interest to working professionals include financial services, insurance and banking. Industries available for skilled workers include furniture production, tool manufacture, office supplies, toys and domestic lighting products.
  • Developing industries: Tourism is said to be one of the main developing industries. Additional areas of expected growth include specialist technologies as well as, telecommunications, medical equipment and pharmaceutical products.
  • Industries in decline: Much of the labour-intensive industries are in decline due to many companies relocating offshore to places such as mainland China.
  • Shortage occupations: Sales, technical trades, engineering and management.
  • Leading companies: Anadigics Inc., China Airlines, China Steel Corporation, Hewlett Packard, HBSC, IBM, Sony and Taiwan Sugar Corporation.

Where can I look for a job?

Job vacancies can be found in the English speaking newspapers in Taiwan including, China Post, China News and the Taipei Times. 

If you want to secure a job before relocating to Taiwan, there are many Internet websites that provide a list of online job portals. These include:

www.tealit.com/ 
http://tw.jobsdb.com/tw 
http://taiwan.xpatjobs.com/ 
www.careerjet.com.tw/jobs-in-taiwan-84119.html 
http://jobsearch.monster.com.hk/searchresult.html?loc=253 
http://taipei.craigslist.com.tw/jjj/ 

Further reading

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