Taipei, May 5 (CNA) English proficiency is as important as professional expertise, if not more important, in determining Taiwanese white-collar workers' chances of getting hired by foreign companies, a spokesman for a job hunting service said Saturday.
"The number of registered foreign companies in Taiwan has reached more than 3,000, which accounts for only less than one percent of all registered companies in the country. That shows you how difficult it is to get a job with a foreign enterprise in Taiwan. And more often than not, your English proficiency will be the deciding factor," said Ryan Wu, vice general manager of 1111 Job Bank.
Representatives from various leading foreign companies agreed with Wu's view in a press conference held Saturday to announce the results of a poll on office workers' dream foreign employers. The survey found that over 96 percent of Taiwan's white-collar workers want to work for foreign enterprises.
Employees of a foreign company are expected to attend at least one English-speaking meeting a week, and in Yahoo! Taiwan's case, it's almost a daily routine, said Lu Wen-shiou, Yahoo! Taiwan's human resources director.
"All our e-mails, documents and reports are in English. And most of our meetings are conducted in English, " said Chou Su-huei, human resources manager for American Express.
Most companies do not require language proficiency certificates from their newly-recruited employees, because most of them hold oral interviews prior to the hirings, and "there's no place for you to 'hide' once you're hired, " Wu said.
"To be considered proficient in English, you not only have to be able to attend English-speaking meetings and understand what your colleagues are saying, you also have to be able to participate in the discussions, chair meetings and even socialize after the meetings -- all in English, " Wu said half-jokingly.
At the press conference, "four dream foreign employers" for Taiwanese white-collar workers in four categories were announced according to the results of the online survey. They are: IBM Corp. (manufacturing industry), American Express (financial industry), IKEA (retail industry), and Yahoo Group (all other industries).