Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) It will take a full-scale cross-departmental effort to promote youth employment, a growing concern and critical factor for Taiwan's future national competitiveness, a national conference concluded Thursday.
The National Youth Human Resources Development Conference, organized by five government agencies, invited more than 400 attendees and laid out a detailed conclusion that covered four topics -- employability, employment creation, entrepreneurship and equal opportunity.
A large part of the suggestions made in the conference were education-related, including a complete review of the military conscription system and better integration between vocational education and corporate needs to improve youth employability. Attendees also called for only core classes to be taught in the freshman and sophomore years at universities.
To promote entrepreneurship, universities are encouraged to establish entrepreneurship courses and facilitate more exchanges between students and corporations.
Government should also play an important role in providing more business start-up loans, re-defining underprivileged people and protecting their employment, promoting gender equality and cutting the salary gap between men and women.
Employment creation will be one of the most urgent tasks for the government, the conference concluded. To create more jobs the government should work on the development of industries such as the culture and creative industries. Young people should also be encouraged to work for non-governmental organizations and non-profit organizations.
The one-day conference gathered university presidents, academics and representatives from both industries and youth organizations. Three regional conferences were held in the north, central and south of the country before the main conference.