The Women's Reemployment Program encourages women to return to the workplace

        In September 2023, the Executive Yuan, in conjunction with the resources of the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, established a three-year "Women's Reemployment Plan". The plan aims to assist in improving work functions, deepening employment services, and creating a friendly workplace. The three reward measures in the plan correspond to the goal of eliminating employment barriers for women and increasing their willingness to work.

                According to the statistics of the Chief Accounting Officer of the Executive Yuan, the female labor participation rate (referred to as the "labor participation rate") in Taiwan exceeded 50% for the first time in 2012. Although it has grown year by year to 51.6% in 2022, it is still lower than the 52.4% in OECD countries. To encourage women who have left the labor market due to marriage, childbirth, or taking care of their families to return to work, the Executive Yuan launched the "Women's Reemployment Plan" on September 1, 2023. It is expected to increase the female labor force by 140000 in three years, hoping to increase the overall female labor participation rate to 53.5%.

        The labor participation rate of Taiwanese women gradually decreases after the age of 30, and is even lower than that of neighboring regions such as Japan and South Korea after the age of 50. The time for resuming work also gradually extends with age. Given the continued intensification of the phenomenon of fewer children and older age groups, the National Development Commission estimates that the labor force (aged 15-64) will decrease by 1.45 million in the next 10 years. Coupled with the development of diverse employment forms such as gig economy or self employment, the manpower gap in various industries will become increasingly severe. Therefore, in response to the urgent need for labor force in the post Covid-19 economic recovery, the government has encouraged women to return to the workplace through various employment promotion measures. This not only achieves personal value and self achievement, but also helps alleviate the problem of labor shortage in Taiwan's industries.

        The Development Department stated that many women still possess a certain level of expertise when they first leave the workplace due to household chores; When I want to return to the workplace, I am worried that my abilities may not keep up with the speed of enterprise updates. If you can apply for corresponding rewards and subsidies through the program, improve your existing skills, and regain confidence, you can find employment smoothly. The "Women's Reemployment Plan" launched this time encourages women to plan course content independently. If the proposed plan is approved, completes training, completes job registration, and returns to the workplace, the government will issue a "Self training Award" (up to NTD 30000); If employed continuously by the same employer for 90 days, an additional "reemployment reward" (up to NTD 30000) will be issued.

        In addition, to enhance the willingness of the industry to cooperate, if employers provide job vacancies with adjusted working hours for women with family care needs, the government will issue NTD3000 to each job vacancy on a monthly basis, for a maximum of 12 months, and can enjoy a maximum NTD36000 "working hour adjustment reward".

        In recent years, women's secondary employment has gradually become an important source of labor supply in Taiwan, and the government assists approximately 18000 women to return to the industry every year. With the development of the international ESG wave, projects such as the proportion of female colleagues, workplace friendly systems, and job redesign have become the foundation of benchmark enterprises. Faced with the urgent situation of manpower shortage, the complete supporting measures for women to return to the workplace will be one of the key factors in stabilizing Taiwan's productivity. The details of the Women's Reemployment Program are as follows:

        Applicable objects

        Labor: Women who have left the labor market for more than 180 days due to family reasons.

        Employer: An enterprise, organization, or school that applies for talent registration with a public employment service agency.

        Reward items and standards

        1. Self training reward: To encourage women to plan self training, improve their original functions, complete training, and handle job registrations, NTD20000 will be issued; Those who have been recommended for employment or self employment within 180 days of completing the training will be given NTD10000, with a maximum of NTD30000.

        2. Reemployment reward: In order to encourage women to return to the workplace and stabilize employment, NTD 30000 will be given to women who register for employment with public employment service agencies, are recommended for smooth employment, and continue to be employed by the same employer for 90 consecutive days and are paid full-time on a monthly basis; For those who have been employed for 90 days or more and receive a monthly salary of more than half of their basic monthly salary, NTD15000 will be issued.

        3. Employer's Hour Adjustment Reward: Employers who register with public employment service agencies for talent seeking, hire recommended women, and provide them with hour adjustment work or partial hour work. After 30 days of employment, an NTD3000 reward will be given monthly for each position, up to a maximum of 12 months. (Data source: Ministry of Labor Development Agency's official website, "Women's Reemployment Program" section)

        Image source: freepik

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