Taipei, May 29 (CNA) A country-wide employment service program to help foreign spouses find jobs was launched by the Veterans Affairs Commission (VAC) Tuesday in Taipei.
The program will be held all over Taiwan to help foreign spouses married to veterans to find jobs, said VAC Minister Hu Cheng-pu, who added that it provides services such as free counseling, employment matchmaking and career-planning classes.
The VAC, which is in charge of the affairs and welfare of military veterans, has now expanded its service to veterans' family members, Hu said.
According to VAC statistics, more than 31,000 veterans are married to foreign spouses. The number accounts for more than 12 percent of the foreign spouses in the country, of whom more than 85 percent come from China.
As most of the foreign spouses of veterans are middle aged or elderly, they are underprivileged and are at a disadvantage in the human resources market, which is why they need help from a government agency, Hu said.
In 2006, 5,253 veterans and members of their family were employed with the help of the VAC service program.